


Slaves of Drama

by Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2019-09-03 12:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 223,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16766611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi/pseuds/Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi
Summary: Total Drama Island - Chapter One through Twenty-Eight:After watching your audition video, Chris Mclean decides to make a last minute exception and adds you to his show. Needless to say, this is a decision that will completely change your life.Total Drama Action - Chapter Twenty-Nine and forward:You just learned your family's secret, and now you have to find a way to get out of the show.





	1. Total Drama Island - The audition tape

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you for your interest to this story, it means so much to me! (especially since no one really reads Total Drama fanfiction these days) 
> 
> Anyway, if you haven't read the full description yet, I already have a plan for Total Drama Action and some aftermath... So, with almost 400 pages of TDI, this is going to be a long work. Just be prepared, ahah! Also, English is not my first langage, so if you see any mistakes, please tell me about it! It's really appreciated!
> 
> Of course, I don't own Total Drama characters, the original plot nor do I own you. I just own your background story in this and the ideas I put into place. 
> 
> The prologue's pretty short, but the rest of the chapters are very long. I hope you enjoy!

**THE AUDITION TAPE**

The video starts with a plain view of a gray room with furniture, clothes and art projects all over the place. It’s completely silent for a few seconds and, just when you think this could be a pointless video, a girl’s head pop down the ceiling with a mischief smile on her face.

" _**Hey. ** _"_****_

The video then cuts to the same girl sitting down on a chair, still smiling. There’s enough time to notice that she has (h/l) (h/c) hair and (e/c) sparkly eyes. Her smile is a little off, but it seems pretty nice.

" _Hello everyone! My name’s (Y/F/N) and I’m here to audition for Total Drama Island! _"__

The video cuts again and, this time, the girl is looking around herself with scared features.

" _ **Oh no... I’m alone with my thoughts again. ** _"_****_

It then comes back to the cheerful girl.

" _I’m sorry if I seem aggressive during this video. It’s just that it’s the third time that I’m filming this and I’m getting quite impatient with myself. _"__

" _ **All this smiling is hurting my face. ** _"_****_

" _Anyway! First, I think you should pick me for your show because I’m a very interesting person. _"__

" _ **Why am I doing this video? I don’t even want to go. ** _"_****_

" _Also, I’m someone that likes to have a lot of fun and that can get very competitive. And I would LOVE to meet new people! _"__

" _ **Please don’t choose me. I hate people. ** _"_****_

" _Actually, just for a heads up, I don’t want to win the prize. I just want to have fun and have something to do for the summer. _"__

" _ **I probably don’t deserve to win anyway. ** _"_****_

" _But that doesn’t mean that I can’t make a good show! People say that I’m very intense and that I have a very wild imagination. So, I’m pretty sure I can be useful for quite some time. _"__

" _ **I’m also pretty sure that if I go... I’ll die. ** _"_****_

" _I would understand if you don’t pick me, though. Having a contestant that doesn’t want the prize isn’t something that you might be into. _"__

" _ **What if I have died crossing the street and I have no idea that I’m dead? Is this video going to decide if I’m going to hell or heaven? ** _"_****_

" _But anyway, if you choose me, I promise that I’ll make everything more fun! It might not always be the... good fun. But at least, it’ll be fun for the viewers! _"__

" _ **I wonder what will happen if I just jumped off the window right now. ** _"_****_

" _That’s it for now. Anyway, thanks for watching this video! If you pick me, you won’t regret it! _"__

" _ **Just kidding. You’ll totally regret having me.**_

That’s when the video stops, Chris Mclean’s smile growing up wider than possible as he points his finger to his computer.

"I like this one. What do you think, Chef?"

"We already have 22 contestants."

The host of his soon to be show pouts to his coworker who simply shakes his head at him. But Chris really wants this girl to be on his show, she seems fun. He gives Chef some puppy eyes, but the big man only rolls his eyes and shrugs. Chris really doesn’t care about Chef’s opinion anyway. He just has to make the producers agree with him.

"We can always have 23 contestants, right...?"

He doesn’t wait for a response and sends the contract to the teenager, Chef sighing at him. Chris’ smile grows even wider than before when he receives the contract back later. Signed.

This is going to be an interesting season.


	2. TDI: Not So Happy Campers - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You arrive at the island where everything is exactly like you expected: crappy and scary. Yet, you somehow manage to make friends almost instantly and feel hopeful about the upcoming summer. Will you change your mind once you'll have to jump off a cliff and into a lake of man-eating sharks?

**Chapter One: Not So Happy Campers - Part 1**

"I told them to not pick me."

You’re on the deck of the boat, feeling some water splashing your legs as you see the crappy island coming closer and closer. You knew from the beginning that it will not look like the application form, since you searched the place on google map before, and you also knew that this place might not be as fun as you thought when you read the contract... but you decided to sign the thing anyway. You’re a (Y/L/N), you don’t get scared by dangerous things! ... right? Normally no, but now, as you’re seeing the dock full of people coming closer, you wish that you didn’t know about this stupid show in the first place.

"Why the hell did I agree to this? This was a huge mistake. I wanna go home." You mumble to yourself, picking up your luggage with you and starting to get off the boat.

"And this is our twenty-third camper, (Y/F/N)! Be careful though, she has a secret dark side!" You hear Chris say that to your future companions and you have to stop yourself from laughing out loud at his comment. Instead, you force one of your nice smiles and you wave to the rest of the group.

"Hi everyone!" While you put down your things with theirs, your eyes stare for a couple of seconds on a punk guy, who looks like he had killed before, and a bored-looking goth girl, who probably doesn’t want to be here either. You can’t help but admire their style, they look so great!

_Oh fuck. There are hot people here._

The punk guy smirks down at you and the goth girl waves back along with the other contestants. You try to smile harder as your heart squeezes in pain: this was going to be a tough summer for you. That’s when a short girl with a high ponytail, black glasses, and a huge smile covered with braces runs over to you. You try not to take a couple of steps back at her sudden joy upon seeing you. You’re not used to strangers, especially since they kind of scare the crap out of you.

"Hey (Y/N)! I’m Beth! Looks like we’re going to be friends for the next eight weeks!" She spits out those sentences fast, obviously happy to get to know you. Your features soften and you smile wildly at her. She’s cute. Maybe you’ll get used to her cheerfulness.

"I do hope so." You look around, secretly hoping that you can be friends with everybody else… it might be hard, though. Really hard.

"First things first, we need a group photo for the promos." Chris looks at everyone with a smug. "Everyone on the end of the dock!"

You don’t even get to react that everybody’s already on the other side, Chris stepping on the boat to take the picture. You go join them in the instant and end up beside a blond girl wearing cowboy boots, an orange skirt, a red and brown top, and a blue bandana. You notice that the last clothing item goes with her eyes, so you compliment her. Looking rather happy, she thanks you by squeezing you in a hug and introducing herself as Lyndsay.

"Okay!" Chris screams at the group as they start to pose and you just give a little smile. "In one! Two! Three!"

You hear a click sound and you stop smiling, only to have Chris talk again.

"Oups! Okay, forgot the lens cap.... okay, hold that pose..." You smile another time, feeling your skin around your face hurting you. "One. Two. Thr-oh! No, wait, the card’s full! Hang on..."

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

"Come on, man. My face is starting to freeze." You look around to see a brown girl just on the other side of Lyndsay, an intense smile staying on her face. You’re about to add something to her comment when you feel some bad cracking under your feet, making you stop smiling.

_Why do I feel like this is going to collapse soon?_

"Got it!" Instead of posing like the others, you prepare yourself to jump and run on the other side of the dock, having a bad feeling about the situation Chris put you all in. "Everyone says, Wawanakwa!"

While the rest of the group chant the name of the camp as Chris takes the picture, you run as fast as you can, the dock cracking awfully. You feel the water splashing your back and hear people scream a few seconds later, your feet finally stopping on the grass. Needless to say, you’re the only one still safe on the island, everybody else soaking in the water as Chris is simply smiling wildly on the boat.

You look over at the host, who’s still taking pictures of everyone. You roll your eyes at his behavior and go back to the edge to help some people up. You guess that this guy might turn out to be a psychopath later… but who knows?

As your helping Lyndsay, the brown girl and a red-haired one with crazy green eyes out of the lake, Chris Mclean frowns down at you. He did not expect someone to easily get out of his first little prank... You’re sure going to be an interesting one.

"Thank you, (Y/N)!" Lindsay gives you a wide smile, completely soaked. "You saved us!"

"Well, not really." You slightly chuckle as you help a blond girl with a blue top get on the island."You guys can all swim. I’m just helping you to get back up here."

"Well, thank you anyway, girl." You hear the brown girl talk before you feel her pat you on the back. "I’m Leshawna."

"I’m Bridgette." The blond you just helped smiles sweetly at you. "Thank you for helping me up."

The red-haired girl then laughs maniacally and state her name as Izzy. You smile at all of them, feeling hopeful. These people are so nice, maybe it will be easy for you to make friends!

"I’m (Y/N), nice to meet you all! I hope we can be friends!"

"Sure do, honey. This competition doesn’t mean we have to hate each other."

You like how Leshawna thinks.

"Okay, everyone. Dry off and meet me at the campfire pit in ten’!" Chris proceeds to leave with the boat, probably wanting to land on some more appropriate dock that isn’t broken somewhere.

As the other girls help the rest of contestants out of the water, you go through your bag and get out the towels you brought with you. You give them to Lindsay, Bridgette, a blond cowboy guy and to what looks like a model. Seeing your great and awesome idea, some of the people go take more towels out of their luggage to give to everyone and, when you’re all dry off, you all leave to get to the campfire site. You take your luggage with you and start to walk, wondering how the day will go. Lyndsay, who already likes you, stays close to you and tells you funny stories that happened to her friends back at home. You’re so caught up in her words that you don’t notice sitting down at the camp, Chris quirking an eyebrow at you two.

"This is camp Wawanakwa! You’re new home for the next eight weeks!"

Chris’ voice scares the crap out of you and Lindsay, but the host got the success of gaining your attention.

"The campers sitting around you will be your cabin mates, your competition and maybe even your friends! You dig?" You nod at his question. "The camper who manages to stay on Total Drama Island the longest without getting voted off will win one hundred thousand dollars!"

_That’s boring. They could have at least made it a million._

"Excuse me, what will the sleeping arrangements be?" The punk guy from earlier smirks at a girl with fake eyebrows and a bitch face. "Because I’d like to request a bunk under her."

"Such romance." You murmur that under your breath, regretting admiring his style earlier. Yet, somehow, he heard you and he looks back to give you a bad look, probably saying something like “ _Shut up or I’ll kill you_ ”.

"They’re not co-ed, are they?" The bitch looking girl asks with a slightly scared face.

"No. Girls get one side of each cabin and dudes get the other." Chris looks proud of himself.

"Excuse me, Kyle?" You haven’t noticed that Lyndsay has raised her hand. "Can I have a cabin with the lake view since I’m the prettiest?"

_Oh my god, Lyndsay. No._

"Okay, you are… but that’s not how it really works here and it’s Chris."

Feeling a rush of awkwardness in you, you decide to pay your attention elsewhere so you can calm down.

_Look, (Y/N), there’s a squirrel on the rooftop of one of the cabins. Isn’t it cute? Wait. Is that punk guy troubling a deer? Where did he found it? And when did he leave? What? I am so confused right now._

"Here’s the deal." You come back to your senses and look back at Chris, feeling like he might say something important this time. "We’re gonna split you into two teams. If I call your name out, go stand over there."

You watch people get up and go to the side while he calls names.

"Gwen, Trent, Heather, Cody, Lindsay, Beth, Katie, Owen, Leshawna, Justin and Noah. From this moment on, you are officially known as..." He throws a green flag to the team. "The Screaming Gophers!"

You’re not going to lie, you’re kind of sad to not be on the same team as Beth, Lindsay, Leshawna or that cool goth girl who’s hot. Gwen, right? You like her name… and no, you’re not starting to have crushes on total strangers. Stop it.

"The rest of you, over here! Geoff, Bridgette, DJ, Tyler, Sadie, Izzy, Courtney, Ezekïel, Duncan, Eva, Harold and.... (Y/N)! Move, move, move!"

"Hey, we’re on the same team!" Bridgette cheers and you give the same excitement. At least you already have a friend on your team, that’s nice.

"You guys will officially be known as... the Killer Bass!" A ginger-haired boy name Harold catches the red flag from Chris, smiling happily.

"Awesome. It’s like... amazing!" He looks like he's having the best thing in his life.

"Yeah... that’s… really great..." You mumble under your breath again and look around when you feel someone stare at you... That punk guy heard you again! Dammit! No one can know about your secret dark side! You put on a nice smile to make him look away and it works, because now he’s looking away and rolling his eyes at Chris.

"Alright, campers. You and your team will be on camera in all public areas during this competition. You’ll also be able to share your innermost thoughts on tape with video diaries anytime you want! Let the audience at home know what you’re really thinking… or just get something off your chest. "

* * *

"Okay. I know that I signed to be on a creepy island with a bunch of people and I also know that I signed to an imminent death… because, unlike the others, I’m the only one who read the whole freaking contract. But… what I know… is that I didn’t sign to be stuck on a creepy island with super attractive people! How I am supposed to not be weird and function normally in those conditions?"

* * *

"Alright. Any question?" You’re about to ask Chris if you guys will be able to contact your friends or your family, but he doesn’t give you any time. "Cool. Let’s find your cabins. Gophers, you’re in the East cabin, Bass you’re in the West."

You enter the girls’ side of the cabins with the others and notice the crappy bunk beds, shrugging it off like it’s nothing. It makes sense to you, cause it’s supposed to be a camp. You also don’t care if you’re on top or bottom, so you let the others decide which bed they want and put your luggage in the corner before you wait.

You’re not surprised to find Sadie complain about not being with Katie, her twin sister by heart, the girl ending up sharing the bunk beds with Izzy. You then see Bridgette take one of the bottom beds and silently tells you to take the top one, but Eva, the scariest girl you’ve ever come to face, takes it before you can. Your blond friend, completely terrified, looks at you in pure panic and you give her a reassuring smile. You then look around for another bed, noticing a pretty brown-haired girl taking one of the top beds. What’s her name again… Courtney, right? You approach her calmly, hoping to not disturb her.

"Mind if I take the bed under you?" She jumps up at your voice and turns her head at you.

"Oh, you’re (Y/N), right? Yeah, you can take it." She gives you back your smile and steps back to give you some space.

"Thanks." You don’t try to talk much more and sit down on your new-found bed, the mattress being a little uncomfortable. You let it slide and go put some of your luggage under your bed. Once you’re done, you get up and step outside the cabin at the same time Lyndsay appears out of the Gophers’ one.

"Where are the outlets? I have to plug-in my straightening iron." Lindsay gives Chris an apprehensive look and you nod at her question, wanting to know where you’ll be able to plug your cellphone.

"There are some in the communal bathrooms just across the way." Chris explains with his usual big smile, pointing back at another type of cabin.

Hm. These don’t look that bad.

"Where’s the spa? I’m confused." You close your eyes and cringe for her. Clearly, she hasn’t noticed that everything on the website is fake.

"It means we shower together, idiot." Gwen appears and sits down on the stairs. You the goth girl a glare when you see Lindsay start to cry from the rude comment, going to your right after friend to give her a big hug. Sure, your new friend might be a little dumb, but that goth girl didn’t have to be so mean about it. She seems to understand her mistake when she sees your expression and looks elsewhere, shameful features setting on her face.

"Excuse me, Chris?" Geoff asks from your team’s cabin. "Is there a chaperone of any kind in this facility?"

"You’re all sixteen years old..." Chris looks around slowly. "You’re as old as a counselor in training at a regular summer camp. So, other than myself, you’ll be unsupervised… And you’ve got half an hour to unpack and meet me back at the main lodge starting... now!"

You then hear a high-pitched scream coming from the girls’ side of the Gophers cabin, noticing that your friend Lindsay is not beside you anymore. You all step inside the cabin, wondering what went wrong. You guess that with Lindsay, it could be anything.

"Man, that white girl can scream." You ignore Leshawna’s comment and walk slowly to your scared friend.

"What happened, Lindsay?"

"What is this? Kill it! Kill it!" She screams again, pointing at the floor. Your eyes follow her gaze and you gasp. There’s a freaking cockroach on the floor! You hear DJ screams and he jumps on one of the beds, instantly breaking it.

"That was my bed." Gwen’s obviously upset by the situation.

"Maybe it’s your karma for calling Lindsay an idiot." You slightly smirk at her and she rolls her eyes at you, groaning in annoyance. You giggle at her reaction.

"Nah, sorry. That was just a very easy thing to say, I couldn’t stop myself." Gwen gives you a suspicious look. "I had a broken bed before, so I could help you repair it later if you want."

"Wow, really?" She’s not quite sure if you’re serious or not but, once she sees that you’re not joking, she gives you a big smile. "Thanks. That’s so nice of you."

Of course, everyone was screaming and trying to kill the cockroach while you two were having this conversation. Sometimes, you’re just so out of reality, but you return to it just in time to see the punk guy (Duncan, right?) slice the disgusting insect in half with an ax. Wait, he has an ax!?

"Well, that’s one way to kill a cockroach." You nod at Gwen’s comment, feeling quite impressed.

"I call this the definition of being a badass. Where did you find that ax? It’s so awesome." You approach him, forgetting that you were supposed to hate him for grossly hitting on girls earlier… but what can you say? You love weapons and gore.

Duncan gives you as sly smile as you admire the weapon in his hands. "Well, wouldn’t you like to know, huh?"

Instead of answering him, you take the ax off his hands and test its weight, making him quirk an eyebrow at you. You surprise him when you quietly laugh with an evil grin.

"This is perfect." You whisper that part and completely forget about Duncan, who’s ten centimeters away from you.

"Perfect for what, honey? Are you planning something?" He takes the ax back from you and put it on his shoulder again, smirking down at you. Didn’t matter what you wanted to do, but if you were going to do something that is involving an ax, he wanted to be a part of it. You smirk back at him and exit the cabin.

"Wouldn’t you like to know, huh?"

And just with that, you start to intrigue the ex-juvie punk.

* * *

"Listen up!" You look up at a screaming big brown guy wearing a cook outfit, also looking like he’s been in the army before. "I serve it three times a day and you’ll eat it three times a day. So, grab a tray, get the food and sit your butts down now!"

You’re currently the last in the line, having plenty of time to notice the "food" on people’s stray. It’s moving. No way you’re going to eat that… but sadly, you receive the same thing as the others when you get in front of Chef. You stay in place and stare down at your food with a strange vibe coming off you, looking up at an annoyed Chef.

"I’m not eating that."

Everyone gasps at your behavior, Chef getting angrier.

"I don’t think you understood me, miss. You are going to eat this three times a day and be silent."

"I don’t think **you** understood me, mister anger management issues. **I’m. Not. Eating. This. Crap.** " You hear more gasps as you see Chef starting to explode in his mind, cutting his screaming monologue off with a smirk. "Unless... you eat it too."

There’s a heavy silence, Chef’s secretly asking himself whether he should scream at you or cave to your demand.

"What? You don’t even want to eat the food that you made? Do you really don’t trust your skills that much?" He gives you a mean look and takes out a spoon.

"Miss, we’re gonna eat it at the same time and you’re gonna love this."

"Bring it, old man. I was born for this moment."

You both eat at the same time and, while you’re trying not to vomit, Chef spits out his food and drink a whole cup of water.

"See? You hate your food... and you want us to like it?"

You were expecting some more screaming or bad looks, but you get surprised when you see him looking rather sad. Your bad aura suddenly comes off and you pat his shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get better eventually. Why don’t you practice more and try easier things? I can help you if you want."

He refuses your help, sending you off to your team’s table. You go take your place beside your teammates, who gives you some thumbs up for taking your ground with Chef. Meanwhile, you decide to not eat lunch. You already ate a lot this morning at your own house, your grandma who forcing you to eat too many things, so you’re not hungry at all.

"Welcome to the main lodge!" Chris gains all of your attention as he enters the room.

"Yo, my man! Can we order a pizza?" A large knife flies right above Geoff’s head and gets stuck on the wall. "Woah, it’s cool, gee! Brown slop is cool! Right, guys?"

You laugh quietly at the situation. You’re getting good hopes about your summer with these guys.

"Alright, guys. Your first challenge begins... in one hour!" Chris then leaves the lodge to some panicking teammates.

"What do you think they’ll make us do!?" Katie turns to DJ with a scarred face and you frown at her.

_Why is she sitting with us? She’s not even on our team... oh, wait. She’s with Sadie. Of course._

"It’s our first challenge, how hard can it be?" You turn your frown at DJ, who’s looking rather nonchalant.

"It’s not because it’s the first challenge that it’s going to be easy. I’m feeling more like a dangerous thing is coming more than anything else."

* * *

You’re all at the top of a big cliff and wearing your swimsuits, looking down at some very deep water. You’re specifically wearing a black one-piece because there’s no way you’re risking losing your swimsuit and accidentally be naked in front of everyone. You’re also very far away from the end of the cliff, clearly shaking from fear and hugging yourself. To the others, it looks like you’re terrified of heights and some of the people, feeling pity, try to reassure you... but you’re not afraid of heights.

"Okay! Today’s challenge is threefold. Your first task is to jump off the one-thousand-foot-high cliff into the lake."

_Oh god, I’m gonna die._

"Piece of cake!" Bridgette turns to you with a soft expression. "Everything will be fine, (Y/N)."

Again, you’re not afraid of heights, but you’re too terrified to give her a proper response. Instead, you look at her with puppy eyes and your body continues to shake.

"If you look down, you will see two target areas. The wider area represents the part of the lake that we have stocked with psychotic man-eating sharks. Inside that area is a safe zone. That’s your target area, which we’re pretty sure is shark free."

You’re not afraid of the sharks either.

"For each member of your team that jumps and survives, there will be creative supplies waiting below. Inside each crate are supplies you’ll need for the second part of the challenge: building a hot tub! The team with the best one gets to have a wicked hot tub party tonight! The losers will be sending someone home. Let’s see, Killer Bass, you’re up first."

" **Oh god, no. Please.** " You beg under your breath, hiding your face with your hands in complete fear. You feel something on your shoulder and slowly look up from your hands to see Duncan, the punk giving you a sly smile.

"What is it, doll? You’re afraid of heights? I thought you were a tough one."

The panic in you rises, your brain finally understanding that no one knows what you’re afraid of. Duncan loses his smile when he sees tears appear in your eyes.

" **I don’t know how to swim.** " Your voice comes out in a whisper and cracks a little at the end. "If I jump from this height, I’m gonna end up at the bottom of the lake and _die._ "

As usual, Duncan is the only one who hears you talk and he suddenly understands why you’re panicking so much. He looks at you in the eyes and squeezes both of your shoulders, giving you a reassuring smile. He doesn’t have to be a jerk to everyone all the time... and certainly not now.

"Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to jump, you know? You have a good reason; Chris and the team will understand."

"No. They’re gonna hate me so much. I don’t want them to hate me. Then I would hate myself so much and I would not be able to live with that. But if I jump, I’m gonna die an-"

"Hey. Stop it. You’re gonna be fine." He notices that no matter what he says, you aren’t going to believe him, which makes him sighs. "Okay, look. Stay behind everyone. When it’s finally your turn to jump, you’ll decide if you do it or not. If you don’t, I’ll make sure no one bothers you. But if you do jump, I’ll be down there and I’ll stop you from drowning, okay?"

That seems to calm you down a little and the tension in your body ceases. You give him a shaky smile, breathing in and out slowly.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, well, I’m just helping you with this challenge. Don’t count on me for the others, sweetheart."

Your smile turns into a smirk, which surprises him yet again.

"Oh, don’t worry, honey. I’ll keep the fact that you're actually nice as a secret."

"So, who’s up?" Bridgette asks, cutting short your conversation.

"Ladies first!" You giggle a little at Duncan’s comment, Bridgette breathing in a sharp breath.

"Fine, I’ll go." She prepares herself to jump. "It’s no big deal. Just an insane cliff dive into a circle of angry sharks!"

The next thing you know, she’s in the safe circle down there and she’s waving back at you all. Tyler has also jumped with too much excitement. He actually made it to the safe circle, but not without falling on top of one of the metal things that are making the circle. You feel sorry for him, but you slowly start to question whether or not you’ll jump. Do you even have the choice?

That’s when you notice that Geoff, Eva, and Duncan have already jumped too. It’s now DJ’s turn, but he looks scared.

"Uh-uh, no way, man. I’m not jumping."

"Scared of heights?" Chris asks that almost with a sense of worry.

"Yeah, ever since I was a kid."

"That’s okay, big guy. Unfortunately, that also makes you a chicken. So, you’ll have to wear this for the rest of the day." He then proceeds to put a chicken hat on DJ’s head, looking very proud of his action.

"Oh man, for real?" Chris imitates the sound of a chicken while DJ leaves. When you see him walk past you, you feel relieved, because you could not jump, but at the same time, it could cost a lot to your team.

"Excuse me, Chris, but I have a medical condition."

You come back from your thoughts to watch Courtney talk to Chris, Ezequïel, and Harold having jumped off already.

"What condition?" Chris is not quite believing her, squinting his eyes at her.

"A condition that prevents me from jumping off cliffs?"

_Do you mean sanity?_

"You can chicken out if you want, but it might end up costing your team the win... and then they’ll hate you."

_Oh god, what did you have to say that? I don’t want them to hate me! What will I do?_

"It’s a calculated risk. I’ve seen the other team and I don’t think nine of them will jump."

"YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!" You’ve screamed that without controlling yourself and Courtney looks at you in pure shock. "You can’t possibly know that!"

She’s about to answer you when Chris puts the chicken hat on her head and pushes her out of the way. "Alright! Here is your chicken hat. So, let’s tally up the results... Wait, that’s seven jumpers and two chickens. We’re missing three people."

"I’m not jumping without Katie!"

"We have to be on the same team, Chris!"

Both of the girls proceed to beg Chris over and over, which is annoying him more than anything else. That’s when Izzy puts her hand up.

"I’ll switch places with her."

"Alright, FINE! You’re both on the Killer Bass now. Izzy, you’re on the Screaming Gophers. That means you’re up, girls!"

You watch the two fake twins jump and scream together in joy, a hard feeling rising in your chest. Chris turns back at you with an evil smile.

"There’s only you now, (Y/N)!"

You gulp. You have to jump now. With only two chickens, your team might have a chance to win the challenge... but with three, you guys are sure to lose. You look down at your team on the beach, almost all of them expecting you to jump. You somehow share a look with Duncan from the distance, the guy sending you thumbs up. He said he’ll help you no matter what you decide, but you can’t risk losing your future friendships for this… right?

Your heart pounds faster and faster, hurting your chest as you walk closer to the edge. You give a last look behind you, seeing Chris smiling evilly. He knows that you can’t swim, doesn’t he?

Before you can change your mind, you jump, screaming on your way down. You feel the wind make your skin cold as you’re seeing the circle with Sadie and Katie coming closer. You close your eyes in fear, not wanting to see it. You take the biggest breath in your life and then, you feel it. The water. Snapping every inch of your body.

You ignore the pain and open your eyes, looking up to see the pink girls’ feet above your head, their legs moving around in the blue water. You feel the liquid sting your eyes and enter your nose. Panicking, you try to take a hold of Sadie’s feet to help you back up on the surface, but your body drags you down and you miss it by two inches. You try your hardest to swim up, kicking your arms and legs as much as you can, but you soon lose your physical force.

Where’s Duncan? He was supposed to save you. Has he decided to let you die? Somehow, your mind makes you believe that you need to let go. So you let your body drag you down and you breathe out the air you have, the blue water entering your throat now. Everything starts to get darker and darker as you feel peace. Maybe you’ll go to heaven after all.

That’s when you feel something grab you and pulling you up. In less time than you can think, your head is out of the water and you’re throwing up loads and loads of it, coughing a lot in the end. As soon as you get more conscious, your arms and legs go around the person that saves you. You don’t even look at who your savior is, you’re just so happy to be alive right now.

"Oh my god, Katie! (Y/N) almost died!"

"I know, Sadie! I was so scared!"

"I’m so happy that you saved her! You’re a hero, now, Katie!"

_Katie...? Katie saved me?_

You’re so in shock with everything that just happened that you don’t notice that the two girls are taking you to the boat, your arms and legs still around Katie. Damn, that girl is stronger than you thought. Harold is the one who helps you get on the boat while Katie and Sadie help each other. When all of you arrive at the beach, you’re less in shock and you manage to give out a little smile.

"(Y/N)! Oh my god, are you okay? I was so scared for you!" You feel Bridgette arms putting you in an embrace. "Why weren’t you coming back up? Were you stuck down there?"

"I... just don’t know how to swim. It’s no big deal."

"What?! Why didn’t you tell us!" She frees you from her arms and looks at you with worry. You laugh at her reaction, even if it sounds a little off due to the amount of water you choked with.

"Seriously, Bridgette, I’m fine, don’t worry. Katie saved me, she’s really strong." You turn to Katie and Sadie. "By the way, thank you for saving me. And sorry for grabbing you like that."

"Awn, no worries. You were scared and I didn’t mind one bit!" She gives you a bright smile that you give one back. You then hear the Gophers starting to fall in the water and you feel someone pat you on the shoulder. You turn around to see Duncan, who’s giving you that same sly smile.

"See? You made it!" You glare at him.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. I almost drowned there."

"Come on, you’re going to hate me for this? I wanted to go save you, those guys just didn’t let me."

"Yeah, right. I learned my lesson, big guy. I’m never trusting you again." With that, you leave him there and go with Bridgette in a quieter place.

"Okay, campers! There’s only one person left!" You look up at the cliff to see that there’s only Chris and Owen left there. "You guys need this jump for the win! No pressure dude... Okay, there’s pressure!"

As the Gophers screams motivation sentences at Owen, your team silently pray for him to not jump. Maybe both teams could end up in a tie? You get distracted by someone jumping at you.

"Oh my gosh, (Y/N)!" You recognize Lyndsay’s voice and give her back her crushing hug. "I thought you were dead! I got so scared when you weren’t coming back to the surface! But then, I saw Katie and Sadie saved you and I was so happy! How are you? You’re okay? Do you need anything? Do you want me to paint your nails and do your hair? Because you could need some help with that, you kn-"

"Lindsay, I’m okay." You laugh and get out of her embrace, not minding her rude comment. That’s when you see the big wave produced by Owen’s jump. In a panic, you run to the forest, dragging Lyndsay and Bridgette along with you. You feel the water splash your legs, your feet stopping on the grass just at the edge of the beach. You smile and let out a shaky breath, happy to still be alive.

"The winners: The Screaming Gophers!"

_Ah, crap._


	3. TDI: Not So Happy Campers - Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the second and final part of the challenge, and you and your team don't really look like you're in luck. When everything starts to crumble, will you be the one to take the blame? Or will someone be there to protect you?

**Chapter Two: Not So Happy Campers - Part 2**

The Screaming Gophers are way ahead of you, their crates being easily carried away by their new-found prize. You’re using all of your strength to try to push one of yours along with Bridgette, but you keep getting distracted by Gwen’s form in front of you. Wait! It’s not like you’re being a pervert or something! It’s just that... every time you look at her, your brain starts to imagine the two of you dating...

You shake your head. You need to stop fantasize things with real people. That’s weird.

"Ow! I think I just got a splinter!"

You and Bridgette turn around to give Courtney a mean look. She was the one who said that the other team will never have nine jumpers. If she had jumped, you guys wouldn’t be here being losers. When you see Eva go talk to her with the angriest face in the world, you and Bridgette decide to simply continue to push the crates. A few minutes later, everyone decides to take a break, Tyler having to go to the bathroom and Katie and Sadie following him right after. You put your hand on your chest to try to control your breathing. God, you need to get in shape.

"Ow! I think something bit me!"

You all ignore Courtney. She deserves to be in pain right now. Seriously, if you had known that you would have lost anyway, you wouldn’t have jumped and risk your damn life! You almost died, for christ sake!

The other three teenagers soon come back, telling you all that everything’s good.

"Can we go now? I think my eye is swelling up."

* * *

"You guys are way behind the other team. Like, way behind. Why is that?" You turn your head to see Chris arriving on a motor vehicle.

"Their butts are itchy." You’re about to say something mean to Courtney, like for her to shut up or something, but you stop yourself once you see her eye. It is swelling up. She must have been bitten by a fly. Poor girl. Even if you’re angry at her, it doesn’t mean that you have to be a jerk, right?

That’s why you go see her with a worried look on your face, he fake twins getting explained by Bridgette why their legs and intimate parts are so itchy. Chris is watching the situation with a terrified but interested in the situation look, the host waiting for the dramatic event of Katie’s and Saddie’s itchy butt.

"Can I see it?" You point at Courtney’s eye, getting more worried by the second. She looks back at you with skeptic features, but she lets you see her eye up close anyway. When you approach your face to hers, your scent attacks her nose, you simply observing the bite on her eyelid. She wonders where you got that wonderful smell. Are you wearing perfume? Wait, that’s not possible, you just jumped in the ocean... Is this your natural scent, then?

You continue to look at her eye, too caught up to notice anything. You don’t like how it keeps getting bigger and bigger.

"Honestly, I think you should head back to camp now and put something cold on it, or it will keep getting bigger. And I’m not sure, but I think I have something in my bag back there that might help you too…. I’ll need to check. How are you feeling? Does it hurt or is it kind of numb right now?" The fact that you’re being so kind and caring to her makes her feel a little better... and you smell so good!

She gives you a sweet smile and you feel a warm feeling on your cheeks. Why does she look so happy? You just told her that her eye’s getting worse... maybe it’s her chicken hat? Is it doing something to her?

"Oh no!" You both turn your head back at your team, wondering what’s happening.

"What do we do!"

Oh. It’s just Katie and Sadie.

"No way, that’s awesome!" Chris laughs while pointing at the pink girls who are now trying to stop the itching on their butts by riding the sand.

* * *

"Finally." Harold puts down his crate and sits on it, exhausted.

"Oh my god, yes! Freedom, at last!" You scream and fall to the ground as Bridgette laughs at your action, all of you appreciating to be back at camp.

"Hey, guys." Curious, you open your eyes and then send a wave to Trent that he returns with a smile. You haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet, but he seems nice. You watch Leshawna pop out of a crate.

"Hey, aren’t you missing a couple of white girls?" You quirk an eyebrow at that, analyzing her question.

"Meh. Don’t care." You shrug it off and go back to laying down on the ground.

"They’re taking a drink." Courtney obviously tries to save the team’s reputation, but everyone knows that it’s already too late.

"Yeah, if they drink with their butts." Harold comment wasn’t the cleverest thing you heard in your life, but you give out a chuckle nonetheless.

"Oh god. What happened to your eye, girl?"

"Nothing. It’s just allergies!"

"Courtney. You should really put something cold on it. It’ll help a little." It’s the fifth time you tell her that, but she keeps telling you that she doesn’t need it.

"I’m fine. I don’t need-"

"Go put something cold on it or I’ll do it myself." She rolls her eyes at you, or at least she tries, and leave to go to the communal bathrooms. You smile with your fist in the air in victory.

* * *

"Okay." Geoff is on top of all of your team’s crates, not even afraid of falling and breaking his neck. "Dudes, it’s not too late. We can do this!"

"Geoff, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re supposed to open these with our teeth? How are we supposed to do that?" You’re genuinely asking him. I mean, you would love to be able to open crates with your teeth, you just don’t know how to do it. Well, you know how to do it, but you don’t know how to do it without breaking your teeth.

"Okay, look guys. We have a hot tub to complete and we need a project manager." Courtney stands up, her eye getting a little better thanks to your advice that she finally took. "Since I’ve actually been a C.I.T. before, I’m electing myself. Any objections?"

"Okay, but do you know how to make a hot tub? Because I doubt that." She gives you a shocking expression. What? It’s not because you used to be a C.I.T. that you know everything.

"Of course I know how to build a hot tub!"

"Where do we begin, Cyclop?" Duncan looks rather bored and skeptic about the whole. As for you, you’re still pissed at him for saying that he would save you and not do it, but you still laugh at his nickname for Courtney and earn yourself a small smile from him.

"Open the crates." Courtney points at Duncan with a serious look. "Bridgette, go find those itchy girls. We need all the help we can get."

You finally get up from the ground, suddenly filled with determination.

"LET’S DO THIS PEOPLE! WE’RE GONNA MAKE THE BEST HOT TUB EVER!"

* * *

"This is the worst hot tub in the whole history." You quietly mumble to yourself and cross your arms on your chest. It was pretty obvious who’s going to win, you don’t need to listen to Chris to know that.

"Well, I think we have a winner here: the Screaming Gophers!"

"That was pretty obvious, Chris."

The host gives you a mean look while the other team scream in joy, you only smiling back at the situation. Yes, you’re sad to have lost the challenge (since that means that one of you is going home), but at least your other friends are happy and that makes you happy too. I mean, look at Lindsay jumping up and down. That’s quite a happy sight, no?

"Gophers! You’re safe from elimination and you get to rock this hot tub for the rest of the summer! Killer Bass, what can I say, it sucks to be you right now. I’ll see your sorry butts to the bonfire tonight."

"We won!" Lindsay screams out of joy. "We get to stay here for another three days! Wou-hou!"

You try to walk towards your blond friend, but your teammates don’t let you and instead drag you to the lodge with them by force. You look up at the sky to see it getting a little darker. Wait, is it already dinner time?

* * *

"So, huh... what do we do now?" You give Katie a bored expression, not even wanting to answer her.

"We have to figure out who we’re gonna vote off." You roll your eyes at Courtney’s comment. You’re squeezed between her and Duncan, which makes you feel a little irritated. All you wanted was to be beside Bridgette, but now you have to be beside the two people that you don’t like that much.

"Well... I think it should be princess or the brick house here." Duncan looks at Courtney and DJ in particular.

"Honestly, Courtney probably deserves to go more than DJ. He actually had a pretty good reason to not jump." You say that while picking your food with your spoon. God, you don’t want to eat that… and you won’t.

"What? Why?" Courtney seems rather surprised by the response Duncan and you have given. But, to be honest, she’s more surprised by yours. You were so sweet to her earlier... what happened?

"Well, because unless I’m mistaken, you two are the only ones here wearing chicken hats." Duncan explains the situation rather calmly. "And if we ever have to lift the truck, I like our odds with the big guy."

"That’s a totally good point. Good thinking, Duncan."

"Thanks, (Y/N). I try."

"But you guys need me! I’m the only one wh-"

"We know!" Bridgette cuts her off, really annoyed. " _Who used to be a real C.I.T! So, who would you pick, then?_ "

Courtney looks around her with a paranoid look and points to Tyler. "What about him?"

"Noooooo!" Lindsay screams out of terror. "... I mean, no salt! There’s no salt on the table! Bummer."

Her eyes meet yours and she blushes when she sees you smirking at her, you moving your eyebrows up and down in a playful way. You can’t wait to hear the juicy details.

"Hey, at least he jumped off the cliff, chicken wing." Duncan’s answer to Courtney’s decision makes you give them back your attention.

"Okay!" Courtney turns her head to look at you. "What about (Y/N) then?"

"What do you mean, (Y/N)?" Bridgette is more than annoyed now. "She jumped off too!"

"And she almost drowned! We’re on an island with water everywhere and she can’t swim! Do you seriously think that she can be more useful in this competition?"

"You don’t need to be so mean about it..." You look down at your hands, feeling quite ashamed of your lack of competence in the swimming area.

"Hey, shut up princess." You’re surprised to hear Duncan defend you. "Unlike you, she decided to risk her own life and give us a chance to win. Plus, she can still learn to swim, it’s not that big of a deal."

"Oh really? What if next time, she still hasn’t learned to swim? What if there’s no one to save her from drowning then? Have you thought about that?"

"There will be someone to save her because I won’t leave her alone. And if you didn’t stop me from getting in the water earlier, she wouldn’t even have started to drown today!"

"Katie and Sadie were already there to help her, she didn’t need any more help!"

"Okay!" Geoff’s suddenly stops the whole fight, no one liking the atmosphere right now. "Let’s just chill out. This is getting way too heavy."

"I’ve had enough prison food for one day and I’m pretty sure (Y/N) has heard enough of your crap." You feel your wrist being grab and you’re kind of forced to get up with him. "I’m gonna go have a nap and she’s going to take a walk."

"Wait, what? What’s happening?" You two walk out the door, your wrist still in his hand. "Dude, you’re kind of hurting me right now."

He frees you and continues to walk, not bothering to look back at you. "Whatever. I just needed to give you an excuse to leave. You can do whatever you want."

You continue to walk beside him and give him a long look, feeling quite hesitant. He turns his head back at you and notices your expression.

" _What?_ "

"It’s just… why did you help me back there? You didn’t have to defend me…" He looks at you like you’re the dumbest person ever.

"I told you I’ll help you earlier." Seeing that you’re not reacting to his answer, he rolls his eyes at you and starts to leave, but you stop him.

"Thank you… and I’m sorry."

Maybe you’ve just said something wrong, or you said something else than what you think you said because now he’s looking at you like you’re some sort of alien.

"Why the hell are you sorry for? You haven’t done anything."

"Well, actually, yeah. I was being a jerk to you at the beach when you actually cared. So... I’m sorry for assuming that you wanted me to be dead and haven’t not tried to save me when you _actually_ tried... because you did try, right?"

There’s a long silence where he just looks at you with a strange expression. You send him a smile, knowing deep down that he’s a nice guy inside all that tough punk guy thing. He then realizes that he’s been staring at you for a long time without saying anything and looks away, putting on his tough act again.

"Yeah, whatev’. I don’t care. I’m gonna go take a nap now."

"Have sweet dreams!"

You hear him grumble something under his breath and he leaves you with absolutely nothing to do. You decide to look around, trying to think of something to pass the time. That’s when you feel a light pat on your shoulder and you turn around to see Gwen smiling at you.

"Hey, (Y/N)." Your knees instantly feel weak and you try your best to not blush right now.

"Hey, Gwen! What can I do for you?" She seems to get a little intimidated by your cheerful welcome and she bites her lips, slowly killing you. "Are you okay...? Do you need... Oh, your bed! Sorry, I forgot! Let’s go repair this bad boy! "

She chuckles at you. "Thanks. I didn’t want to force you to help me, but you did say that you would help me, so..."

She opens the door of the cabin for you and you walk straight to the broken bed.

"There’s no problem, really." You take off her mattress, immediately understanding the problem. "Well, as you probably can see, it seems like your bed was broken in half. Not completely, though. Which is great, because it might be easier to fix."

She looks at you silently as you start to think about how to repair her bed. It was kind of hard to do since you’re alone with her in a room full of beds... Your mind just keeps imagining things and- dammit, brain! Concentrate!

"I think I know how to fix this, but I’ll need some wood, nails and a hammer."

"I got those things earlier… Wasn’t easy to find them, but I got em’." She gives you the stuff you need as you repair her bed, the whole process taking longer than you thought it would take.

"Well, it’s not perfect, but it should be better than sleeping on the floor." You turn your head at her only to see her already staring at you with a smile. "Um... is there something on my face?"

Her eyes open wide and her cheeks turn in a slight pink color. "Hm, no! I was just thinking that you’re kind to help me, that’s all."

You blink a couple of times before you smile again. "Awn, thanks. But I told you, it’s not a big deal. I’m happy to help a friend anytime."

She smiles back at you, clearly happy to hear you say that you guys are friends. But then, she loses it and kind of stares at space.

"So, um... have you decide who you’re going to vote off?"

"Oh, honestly, probably myself."

"WHAT!?" She looks at you dumbfounded. "Why would you do that?!"

You laugh at her reaction "Oh, I forgot to tell, right? I don’t care about the prize. I’m just here to have fun, meet new people and try to make friends. And if I vote someone off, I’ll feel bad and hate myself. So, I’m gonna vote for myself, that way I feel good and someone who actually wants the prize can have it."

She looks like she doesn’t quite believe you, but she also seems like she wants to tell you something.

"You’ve got something on your mind, don’t you?"

"Well, maybe you’ll want to vote someone off if I tell you this…"

You frown. "What do you mean?"

"After you and Duncan left the lodge earlier, Ezequïel said some pretty nasty things about girls in general. Like how girls are weak and should not be on this show or something like that. We all got pissed, so... you might want to vote him off too."

That’s when she notices your cold features and your dark aura, making her shiver in fear.

" **Is that true?** " Your voice is dark and evil, scaring the crap out of her.

"Y-yeah, it is. I know, it’s fucked up. Pretty sure your team will put him down."

You get up, your steps getting faster and faster towards the entrance door and pushing you outside. Gwen follows you, clearly not trusting you to not do something stupid.

"(Y/N), what do you think you’ll do?"

"I’m gonna find a knife and stab him to-"

"Hey! No." She takes your shoulders in her hands and shakes you. "Bad (Y/N). Bad. Stabbing people is bad. Don’t do that."

You come back to your senses and mentally hit yourself. Great job, (Y/N). Now she’s going to think you’re a psychopath.

"Oh god, I’m sorry, you’re right! I just… have this anger problem where I get like... a killer vibe and want to scream and punch everything...."

_Why did I tell her that? That’s worse!_

"It’s okay. Honestly, he might deserve a little beat up, but wait... really? Your anger can get that bad? You’re so sweet, that seems so surreal!"

You smile wildly at her and wink.

"The nicest people are the most dangerous ones when they get angry." You then notice that it’s already dark outside. "Oh. I should probably go vote. You go have fun in the hot tub, alright?"

As you’re leaving her on the steps of her cabin, going to that bathroom stall to vote, you try to forget the whole situation. Did you seriously just winked at her? Why in the world did you do that? Ugh! This is so embarrassing!

* * *

You’re sitting at the campfire site, sending daggers with your eyes to Ezequïel along with the other girls. When his eyes meet yours, you put your finger to your throat and gently gesture cutting it. Your message is clear, he looks like he’s about to pee his pants.

That dude is going down.

"Dude, you’ve got a lot to learn about the real world." Duncan is not impressed by the homeschooling boy, maybe even disappointed. Or maybe he just can’t believe that someone could say sexist comments in a room full of girls. Meh, who cares?

"Killer Bass." Chris starts the ceremony with a dramatic voice. "At camp, marshmallows represent a tasty treat that you enjoy roasting by the fire. At this camp, marshmallows represent life."

"That’s very dramatic for nothing." You get another mean look from Chris. He’s starting to regret having you in his show. Your dark side in the video was right! He should have listened to her! Dammit!

"You’ve all cast your votes in a major decision. There are only eleven marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow tonight must immediately return to the dock of shame to catch the boat of losers."

_Oh, hey, they repaired the dock. When did they do that?_

"That means you’re out of the contest and you can’t come back... ever."

"Noooooo.... for real? I thought we were gonna stay and watch the others do the competition... I didn’t expect that!" Duncan chuckles at your sarcastic comment and you smile back. You’re glad you're sorting things out with him, he seems like a fun guy.

"The first marshmallow goes to Geoff."

"Tyler."

"(Y/N)"

"Katie."

"Bridgette."

"DJ."

"Harold."

"Sadie."

"Duncan."

"Campers. This is the final marshmallow of the evening."

As the time keeps passing by, the two last contestants start to panic. Chris points at them and wait, adding way more suspense to the situation than it needs. You sigh and roll your eyes. Can’t he just say her name already? Everyone already knows who’s getting voted off.

"Courtney."

There. Obvious. But the brown-haired girl looks so happy, you think you see her having tears in her only opened eye.

"Can’t say I’m shocked." Chris gives Ezequïel a disappointed look. "I saw you picking your nose, dude. Not cool. Dock of shame is that way, bro."

And so, the sexist homeschooling boy walks back home, you guys celebrating your stay by the campfire with marshmallows.

* * *

"Yeah, this camp pretty much still stinks." Gwen says that to the camera, her eyes softening after a while. "But, now that I’m here, I guess I might as well try to win... Plus, Trent and (Y/N) are kind of cute."

* * *

"Oh god. I’m having a crush on Gwen. I’m legit having a crush on Gwen. Oh god. This summer is so going to kill me...."

* * *

As you’re leaving the campfire site, you and your teammates pass by the hot tub party and you hear them groan in jealousy. You, on the other hand, don’t care... probably because Lindsay, Beth, Leshawna, and Gwen invited you to go in the hot tub with them some other time… So yeah, you don’t care.

"Are you recording this? Good." You turn around to see that Courtney has stopped walking and has started to talk to a random camera. "They can enjoy their little party all they want, but I’m gonna win this competition. And no one is gonna stop me."

"Easy there, hot stuff. You gotta take it one step at a time." You grab her arm and drag her away with you.

"Huh, let me go! I wanna go to sleep. Where are you taking me?"

"To the communal bathrooms."

"... why?"

"We still need to take care of that eye you got."

Courtney’s cheeks turn a darker shade, the girl getting herself back in control once you’re both in the communal bathrooms. You tell her to sit down on the counter and, miraculously, she listens to you. You give her a cold washcloth to put on her eye while you go through your bag and, even if she doesn’t like to be boss around like that (since she prefers to be the boss), she puts the washcloth on her eye and observe you. She won’t admit it, but she likes the fact that you’re taking care of her.

"Ah-ah! I found it!"

She smiles at your childish behavior. You’re so cute... She stops smiling and decides to look annoyed when you turn your attention back at her. You try to give her the cream, smiling from ear to ear.

"Here, this should help a lot. It might burn, though. If it does, it means it’s working and your eye will be normal by tomorrow morning." She looks at the tube in your hand for a while before she looks back at you.

She’s going to try something.

"Could you.... do it?" You’re taken aback by her request and start to feel weird.

"Y-yeah, sure."

You squeeze out some cream on your fingers as she takes away the washcloth away from her eye. You get close to her and slowly approach your fingers to her face, not wanting to hurt her. She just looks at your eyes. Your big beautiful (E/C) eyes. She didn’t know you’ll be even cuter up close like that... and you still smell so good…

"Now, remember. This will burn." You apply the cream on her eye gently and she hisses. You apologize and make sure that you’re not being harsh in any way, Courtney still looking at your eyes. Her brain is blank, she doesn’t know what to tell you.

"It does burn."You smile and something turns in her stomach.

"It means it’s working." You stop applying the cream. That must be enough. Her eye is already less big and it’s kind of opening now. You look into her black irises, feeling like they’re drowning you. You also notice her freckles on her nose, the whole feature making her face glow under the lights.

"Freckles suits you. It makes you even more beautiful."

Oh my god, why did I say that?! That was so weird!

Courtney smiles. "Thanks! You’re pretty cute too. I like your eyes."

You never felt so much heat on your face before and you have difficulty to thank her back. That’s when you notice that you might be too close to her and you take a few steps back, instantly going to one of the sinks to wash your hands. You try to hide your face with your hair, but she still sees your blush. A very intense one too. It’s like you’re not used to compliments or something.

She realizes that she wants to make you blush again.

"We should... go back to the cabins." You quickly say that as your taking your bag and leaving for the exit, stopping yourself at the last minute to look back at her. "You wanted to go to sleep, right?"

"Yeah, I did." She smirks, making you feel embarrassed. She gets off the counter and follows you close from behind, proud of herself.

Let’s just say you didn’t get that much sleep that night, conflicted feelings keeping you awake about the brown-haired girl sleeping just above your head and the blue-haired one in the other cabin.

Are you having crushes on two girls?


	4. TDI: The Big Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Awake-a-thon and you have to stay awake. Will you be able to survive this new challenge?

**Chapter Three: The Big Sleep**

Let’s just say that Courtney isn’t really happy to be woken up by a horrible screaming boat sound. She knocked her head on the roof because of it and started to yell obscene insults at a non-present Chris. Some people like Bridgette or the fake twins don’t mind, but other people like Eva are trying to control themselves to not punch other people like Courtney. Needless to say, everyone is currently wide and awake. Everyone but you.

You see, at your home, it’s not just you and your parents who live there. It’s your six other siblings too. That means you’re so used to hear sounds, screams and big noises in the morning that you don’t wake up anymore, not even with an alarm. That’s why when Bridgette sees that you’re not waking up, she tries to talk you out of it.

"Hey, (Y/N). I know you like to sleep, but I think we have a challenge coming up."

"What’s happening?" Courtney steps down from her bed and notices your sleeping form curling up in the covers, the weird feeling coming back. "She’s still sleeping?"

"Yeah. I don’t know why because that noise could have woken up anyone." You move a little in your sleep and make the most adorable yawn Courtney has ever seen.

"Let me try something."

While Bridgette leaves the cabin to go take a shower in the communal bathrooms, Courtney takes a closer look at you, trying to focus on how to wake you up. She puts her hand on your shoulder and gently moves you, telling you to wake up. You finally open your sleepy eyes, seeing Courtney up close. She smiles, proud about her accomplishment and also thinking that you look very cute. That’s when you put your face back into your pillow and she frowns.

"Five more minutes." Your voice is muffled by the fluffy pillow, you trying to ignore what’s happening right now.

"We have a challenge. You have to wake up."

"I don’t want to." Courtney quirks an eyebrow.

"If you don’t wake up, I’ll make you."

You put your head up enough to see her being very serious about her statement. You give her a mean look.

"Then do it."

The next thing you know, she’s putting you in the air and you’re screaming, wide awake. After you beg a couple of times for her to bring you down, she lets you fall on the floor, clearly proud of herself. You got up while she laughs at you and you send daggers with your eyes. After a while, you calm down and pout.

"You didn’t have to drop me, that hurts! And since when are you that strong?"

"Since forever. Now put your clothes on, we have to get to the challenge."

* * *

"Morning! Hope you slept well..." Chris looks too happy to see you all in a tired state.

"Hi, Chris! You look really buff in those shorts." Heather’s also being too happy to be awake at seven in the morning. You guys are teenagers, you’re supposed to hate mornings.

"I think he already knows that, Heather. It’s Chris Mclean, after all."

"(Y/N) is right. I already know. Okay. I hope you’re all ready because your next challenge begins in exactly one minute!"

_Oh, fuck. I didn’t get time to go to the bathroom._

"You guys can get breakfast right after you complete your 20 kilometers run around the lake!"

"NEVER!" You scream that with full force, your hatred for running waking you up in an instant.

"You’re enjoying this, aren’t you!?" Eva doesn’t seem very happy about the next challenge. That’s odd. You thought she liked to exercise?

"A little." Chris admits it with his usual smile. "You have thirty seconds before it starts."

* * *

"Okay, runners! On your marks. Get set. Go!" As you watch most of the people starting to run, you just decide to walk. You don’t have to put that much effort into this, right?

Later, as you see a huge group of people passing you by for the third time, you roll your eyes at them. It’s been an hour and just by walking, you did 5 kilometers. You have _plenty_ of time.

"Hey (Y/N), what are you thinking?" Gwen’s voice makes you jump out of your skin. You weren’t expecting her to walk beside you, but here she is, smiling at you.

"Oh, I was just thinking that if I just keep walking, I’ll be done in three hours without running."

"Really? I didn’t think of that."

"Pick it up, people!" You somehow hear Chris talk into a megaphone, then see him pass by you fast on a motorized scooter. "If you’re not back by dinner time, you don’t eat!"

"Yeah, right. We’ll be done in three hours, which is one hour before dinner time. Don’t even need to run." You hear Gwen laugh at your comment beside you and you smile at her. Maybe this challenge won’t be so bad with her right here.

* * *

You and Gwen both have arrived an hour before lunch, just like you said. Damn, you’re good at math.

When you guys got in the lodge in the first place, almost everyone was there, like Courtney and the rest of your team... except for Harold. Now, it’s been an hour since you’ve all been waiting for him, you currently sitting right across Duncan who’s completely bored out of his mind. He looks at you, probably because he was sensing your long stare at him. That’s when you stick out your tongue. You’ve been waiting an hour to do that and yes, you are very tired. He gives you a weird look and sticks out his tongue too, imitating you. You laugh, very happy about his reaction and that makes him smile. He’s about to tell you something when Owen enters the lodge with full force, an unconscious Noah on his shoulder.

"Clear a table, stack!"

Leshawna follows soon after, falling to the floor. Then, Harold comes in… and he’s not looking so good.

"What took you so long? We just lost the challenge!" Courtney’s suddenly standing in front of him and, when you see Harold having difficulties to breathe, you get worried.

"I think I’m having heart palpitations." You immediately go to him and force him to sit down, helping him to breathe normally again with some exercises you learned for your panic attacks, not noticing that some people don’t look quite happy with the attention you’re giving him. Meanwhile, the other team is cheering on themselves for winning the challenge.

"Woh, there. Hold your horses, guys." Chris interrupts the whole cheering from the Gophers with his usual smile. "That wasn’t the challenge."

"So, you lied." You straight out tell while crossing your arms, but he ignores your comment, which you find suspicious, and goes beside some violet curtains.

"Who’s hungry?"

That’s when the curtains open, revealing loads and loads of delicious food on a table.

* * *

Everyone’s on the floor, dying from eating too much of that delicious food. Well, everyone but you again. It’s not like you didn’t eat anything. You did, but not that much. You’re not that hungry or really into that kind of food. A pizza would have been better for you.

"Okay, campers." Why does Chris use his megaphone inside? He doesn’t need it in this situation. "Time for part two of your challenge!"

"I thought eating was the second part." Everyone else seems to agree with Owen.

"What more do you want from us!?"

"Weird goth girl is right." You give Heather a death glare, you seriously want to punch her in the face sometimes. "Haven’t we been through enough?"

"You in particular? Never." You only smile when Heather tries to intimidate you with her glare. Like, really? You can do so much better than that.

"It’s time for The Awake-a-thon!" You give the host a weird look. "Don’t worry, this is an easy one. The team with the last camper standing wins invincibility."

_So, I just have to stay awake for as long as I can? Wonder how long I can stand._

"So, what you’re saying is that the 20k run and trick eating frenzy were part of your evil plan to make it harder for us to stay awake?" Gwen looks very pissed at Chris right now and keeps giving him a mean look.

"That’s right, Gwen!"

"Man, he’s good."

"Move, move, move!"

You see your teammates and your friends slowly leaving the lodge to go to the campfire site, sighing in annoyance. Before you can follow them outside, you hear Trent start a conversation with Gwen.

"So, how long you think it’ll be before everyone is out cold?"

"About an hour, give or take." She then sees Owen walking by her, almost sleeping already. "Maybe less."

You’re about to add something to the conversation when you suddenly feel someone take you by the arm and pulling you with them outside. Damn it, you wanted to know if Gwen’s interested in this guy so you could see if you have a chance with her. You look back in front of you and frown in surprise when you see that it’s the punk guy who’s dragging you.

"Come on, princess. You’re making the team wait." Duncan’s tone is pretty cold, but it feels to you like he might be upset or something. You squint your eyes at the back of his head. He didn’t need to take you with him… You can walk and no one is in a hurry.

You suddenly understand something and you smirk.

"Awn, were you waiting for me, Duncan?" Your smirk stretches out when you feel his hand tightening its grip on your arm.

"No, I wasn’t." You giggle at his words. "S-shut up!"

You roll your eyes with a smile and decide to let it pass for now. You can tease him about it later.

* * *

It’s only been twelve hours and your companions already seem to be tired as hell. Come on! It’s just twelve hours! You can stay awake longer than that! ...well, actually, it might be because you’re the only one who’s been living with chronic insomnia for years... so you have experience… but shhh. No one has to know that.

"Wou-hou!" You turn around to see Owen doing weird moves while standing up, the bags under his eyes getting bigger and bigger. "Staying awake for twelve hours, I can do that in my sleep! Wou-hou!"

You’re not going to comment on how that’s impossible… not because you don’t want to, but because Owen already fell asleep right after he said that.

"This is the most boring thing I’ve ever done in my life." Gwen states this sentence particularly at Trent, who happens to be right beside her. You decide to listen to their conversation, maybe now you’ll learn if Gwen’s interested in him.

"Could be way worse." Gwen’s smirk at Trent, who’s giving her a sweet smile.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"I could be stuck here without you to talk to."

_Oh my god…!. He’s clearly flirting! And she likes it! She’s looking away with a small smile! ...well, I probably don’t stand a chance. He even knows how to play guitar and I freaking don’t._

"What are you doing?"

You look over to see that Gwen was talking to Lyndsay, who’s currently trying to stay awake by standing on her hands...Wait, what?

"I’m trying to get the blood to rush to my head. I think it’s working!"

"Can I try?" Beth asks that to the blond as if she owns that technique.

"Sure."

Even if you love your friends, you don’t want to be a part of this conversation, so you start looking around a little.

Well, when you’re in a boring scenario, what could help you stay concentrate on staying awake? There must be something around here to help you, right? Maybe you could count to ten, then start again over and over. No, that’s boring too.

"You’re looking for something, angel?"

There’s a silence where you just kind of stare at Duncan for a long time, being too caught up in your thoughts to notice that your stare is making him uncomfortable. Like, seriously, why are you looking at him like that? All he did was asking you why you were looking around. Maybe the nickname triggered you… but that’s when he sees your face light up like you just realize something incredible. You point at him and give him your brightest smile.

"You’re not boring!"

You say that sentence with such enthusiasms that he doesn’t know whether it’s a compliment or not. "Hum.... thanks?"

"That’s how I’m gonna stay awake. I’m just gonna talk to you!"

"Hang on, sweetheart. You’re fun, pretty and likable, but I don’t want to pass the next hours talking to you."

"Why? You’re afraid to fall in love with me or something?"

When you see his eyes popping out of his head, you can’t stop yourself feeling happy that this whole thing is getting filmed.

"Pff, fall in love with you? Y-yeah, like that could happen. I kind of hate you, you know?"

"Sorry, I thought I heard you say that I’m fun, pretty and likable like... ten seconds before those lies."

Remember when you said you were going to tease him later? Well, apparently, now is the time. You hear him grunt, making your smile grow wider.

"If I talk to you, will you stop saying things like that?"

"I promise."

"Fine. What do you want to talk about?

* * *

"Okay, it’s my turn now."

You give Duncan a shocked expression. "What!? But what I said wasn’t even a question!"

After all those confessions between the two of you in the last hours, how can he do that to you? You thought you were becoming friends!

He just smirks at you, having an evil spark in his eyes. "Yes, it was, cutie. You asked how long we’ve been awake, and I said that it’s been twenty-four hours. It’s my turn now."

You glare at him and his smile just stretches out. God, you hate him.

"Uh, fine. What do you want t-"

Tyler’s scream stops you from finishing your sentence and you send him a look. He had fallen asleep and got a really bad nightmare. Does that mean your team lost a point? Dammit.

"Congratulation, campers. You’ve made it to the twenty-four-hour mark. Time to take things up a notch!" You and Duncan look back at Chris, who’s having Chef wearing a pink suit of a sheep and playing harp beside him. "Fairytales!"

The host reveals a bunch of books under a white sheet and smiles wildly.

"Is he serious?" You quietly ask Duncan and look at him, but he just shrugs and you go back to listen to the psychopath man.

"Once upon a time, there was, inside this boring kingdom, a boring village. And inside this boring sleepy village filled with very boring children, who did very boring things...."

"Hey, wanna ignore this guy and continue asking each other stuff?" It’s not that you want to talk to Duncan this bad, it’s just that you prefer knowing him more than to listen to this story. Your punk friend looks at you and thinks for a moment about what you’re asking.

"Yeah, why not."

"Yes!"

He just rolls his eyes at your reaction. "Here’s my question: How come you never learned how to swim?"

You start to seriously think about your response. "Honestly? Well, it’s kind of weird but, since I was a child, I’m super afraid of the water for no reason. Like, I used to be so terrified that I started to scream non-stop and run away anytime my family got us to the beach… It’s less intense today, but I’m still afraid." He nods at your response and you smile back. "Anyway, my turn."

"Shoot." You’re about to ask him something when you get hit by some magical powder that Chef’s throwing at everyone, making you yawn like you never did before. You shake your head, trying to stay awake. You then see Duncan about to fall asleep and you decide to shake him with all of the strength you have left.

"Stay awake or I’ll force Harold to kiss you when you least expect it."

That seems to wake him up. "Ew, why would you do that!?"

"Because I’m your friend. And as a friend, I had to stop you from getting a free trial of death."

"... you mean falling asleep?"

"That’s less poetic when you say it like that, but yeah."

"You’re weird, you know that?"

"Shut up, you like it."

* * *

Later, you notice that Courtney is doing some kind of jogging on the spot.

"Courtney, what are you doing?"

She slowly turns her head to look at you, still jogging. A strange glow passes in her eyes when she sees you close to Duncan, but you try not to think about it too much. You wait for her to answer you, even if you can see that she’s clearly out of breath.

"I figured out that if I keep moving, I can outrun all of you. I just have to keep my eyes on the ball."

"You do know that when you’re moving, you’re losing more energy, right? So, it’s not keeping you awake, it’s slowly draining you."

She does not respond to that and ignores you, which you kind of take personally. You look back at Duncan.

"Hey, it’s my turn now, yeah? What was your first impression of me?" You hear him chuckle a little before he looks at you with soft features. Wow. He must be really tired.

"I thought you look too sweet and nice to be on the show. But then, Chris said that you had a secret dark side, so I thought that maybe you weren’t so bad. Then later, you said to me that you had a plan involving an ax, so yeah. You’re sweet, but you definitely have secrets."

"Awn, you think I’m sweet? That’s so nice of you."

"Oh, don’t get me wrong, sugar, you’re also a pain in the ass."

"Thanks. That’s my only objective in life. To constantly bother you."

"Yeah, yeah. My turn now. What was _your_ impression of me? I bet you thought I killed someone."

You give him a surprise and yet hurtful expression. "What kind of person do you think I am? I did not thin- okay, yeah, I thought that for a second."

You hear him laugh again. Maybe it’s because he’s tired that you get to see him less mean… or maybe it’s because you’re funny. Who can say?

"But... you know... I was more admiring your style than anything else. You just look so cool and all."

Why is he suddenly smirking at you?

"You like my style, huh? Did you also happened to think that I was hot?"

"Well, yeah." You blink at him. "You still are."

Man, the look on his face right now is priceless. You bet that he never thought you would say that ever... and you’re not just messing with him right now, you’re saying the truth!

... it might be because you’re sleep-deprived. You kind of feel drunk without having any alcohol in your system.

"What? You thought I was going to deny it or something like that? You’re the most attractive guy I’ve ever met in my entire life, and I mean even more attractive than Justin over there... who looks... weird right now… hasn’t he moved in like, 12 hours? Anyway, you’re hot, and that’s just a general fact if you ask me."

Oh god, you are so going to regret this later. So much.

And as usual, you’re not aware that the person you’re talking to is having difficulties to stay concentrate. You just straight out told a guy that you find him attractive. Heck, you even said that he’s the most attractive guy that you ever met. Now, believe it or not, but that’s a lot for Duncan. He’s not used to those kinds of clear and loud responses… You don’t even look like you have a crush on him! It’s like you stated a fact… and he doesn’t like that one bit.

He also doesn’t like how the fire is making your (H/C) hair glow, or how you’re always giving him one of those special sweet smiles since he met you. And clearly, he doesn’t like the urge he’s having to grab your head and kiss you right at the moment. He sees you tilt your head, waiting for him to give you a response. It’s such a simple gesture, but it’s having so much effect on him right now. That’s when he decides to look somewhere else, like in the fire, so he can control himself and continue to talk to you normally.

"Did I make you uncomfortable? Because I’m sorry if I did, being sleep deprived is kind of making me feel drunk. Hey, speaking of alcohol, do you think we could find some around in this place? It’s been a while since I’ve drink something, I miss it. What’s your favorite drink? I love vodka. Do you like vodka?" Lucky for him, he didn’t have to change the conversation anymore, you’re already doing it without knowing it. He chuckles and turns his head to look at you.

You’re so adorable.

* * *

"Okay, guys!?" You scream that at everyone in general, kind of getting terrified a little. "I seriously think that something’s wrong with Justin. I’ve been watching him for the last 30 minutes and **he hasn’t blink once.** "

You see Gwen and Trent walk over to him, squinting their eyes at him.

"Yeah, you’re right. He’s like a statue. I haven’t seen him move in like... fifty hours." You watch both of them try to get a reaction out of the model, but nothing seems to make him lose his concentration.

"Amazing, look at that concentration." Gwen proceeds to poke him in the face, which causes him to reveal his trick: painted eyes on his eyelids.

"Oh my god, cheater!" You scream again, angrily pointing your finger at him.

Chris gets closer to the model to watch his eyelids, impressed. "That is so crazy incredible… but you’re still out, dude."

* * *

It’s the morning now. You’re getting back from the lodge with something in your hands, trying your best to not spill anything as you walk. Are you sleep-deprived or did you drink alcohol and don’t remember it?

"I found a cup of water!" You give the cup of water to Duncan. "Mission accomplished, sir!"

"Nice!" You watch him go to a sleeping Harold before putting the guy’s hand in the cup of water. You start to giggle uncontrollably when you see that the punk’s little prank is working.

"Oh, gross!" You scream this time, still laughing hard.

"It worked! The dude peed his pants!" He then turns to you and gives you a high five, seeing you still laughing as Harold wakes up and go hides himself in shame. Duncan smile, happy to hear you laugh so much, even though you need to go to sleep.

But then, you stop laughing.

"Why is everything turning black? Am I passing out? I think I’m passing-"

And you pass out. Duncan stopped you from hitting the floor and put you down gently, but still. That was a very intense way to go.

* * *

You woke up hours later by the sudden vision of the outside floor coming closer to your face. As your heart dreads for your safety, someone suddenly catches you in their arms, preventing you from hitting the grass. You look up to see DJ, your nervous system trying to calm down. If he hadn’t caught you, you would have smashed your head on the floor and then got some serious injuries… maybe even died. You look around, scared, before thanking DJ for saving you.

"Oh my god, (Y/N)! Are you okay!?" Bridgette and present team members seem very worried about you. You just look back at the cabin with the angriest eyes anyone has ever seen, understanding who threw you out. You approach the cabin without entering. Then you breathe in.

" _What the fuck is your problem, Eva!?_ "

" _Someone stole my MP3 player!_ "

" _That is not a fucking reason to destroy everything around you and throw people out! What are you, fucking crazy!?_ "

Her head pops out of the window, sending a death glare to everyone and especially to you. " **I don’t care. No one is leaving before I found my MP3 player.** "

She then goes back into the cabin to throw more stuff around… and you can’t stop yourself from letting the storm out.

"Someone stop me before I g _o fucking kill her!_ " You feel hands and arms keeping you in place as you try very hard to go into that cabin. " _You think it’s fine to destroy the property of others or physically hurt them!? Well, let’s see how you still think about that when I’ll bash your head on the floor with my foot!_ "

"Okay, whoever took the MP3 player better give it now before (Y/N) tries to kill her." Courtney’s trying hard to stop you from going to jail. You look so dangerous right now, it’s hard to believe that you’re this sweet young girl.

"Hey, guys." Heather suddenly arrives at the group, smirking proudly. "Wow, this place is a real mess."

That’s when you start to cry, all your anger suddenly gone from your body when the realization of almost dying a second time coming into your mind. "Oh god. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, forgive me guys, I’m usually not like that, I swear. You guys don’t hate me, right? I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me, please."

"Hey, (Y/N), calm down." Bridgette squeezes you into a hug and pats your back, trying to soothe you and help you calm down. "We’re not mad at you. You didn’t do anything bad and you had all the rights to explode like that. I mean, you could have died!"

You’re so relieved to hear those words that your body starts to shake, you crying even more on Bridgette’s shoulder. She doesn’t mind, you need her right now. The rest of the present teammates also tries to comfort you, Heather looking surprised.

"What is going on, exactly?" She asks that question, obviously not expecting that kind of reaction from you.

"Someone stole Eva’s MP3 and she threw (Y/N) out here while she was sleeping." You feel Courtney’s hand pet your head. "You’re fine now, don’t worry."

"Oh, you don’t mean this, do you?" Heather pulls out the MP3 out of her pockets, also putting on a fake kind voice. "I was wondering who it belonged to. I found it by the campfire pit. She must have dropped it."

Eva’s instantly in front of her and taking the MP3 from her hand, joy spreading around her face.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you!"

"Sure thing!" Heather leaves as fast as she has arrived, letting Eva face the team and yourself. She sees you crying into Bridgette’s arms, still trying to digest what just happened.

"So.... um… Sorry for about that little misunderstanding. Guess no one stole it after all!" All she gets back from you guys is your anger and your evil glares. "Okay... Maybe I overreacted a little. "

"Oh... you think?" Courtney asks her with venom in her voice. "You could have killed (Y/N)! That’s just overreacting a _little_ for you?"

"Well, no. But obviously, she’s fine now."

"Look at her. She is NOT fine. AT ALL." Courtney’s right. You’re not fine at all… but before you know it, your team is taking you with them to another location, leaving Eva alone.

As you’re walking, Bridgette tells you that you guys lost a second time. Great.

* * *

"You’ve all cost your votes a major decision. There are only ten marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately return to the dock of shame, catch the boat of losers and leave.... and you can never come back... ever."

"The first marshmallow goes to Duncan."

"(Y/N)"

"Bridgette."

"Courtney."

"Katie and Sadie."

"Tyler."

"Why did you just wink at him? Are you gay?"

"NO! Stop trying to create rumors, (Y/N)!"

"Hey, I’m just saying that you did something weird. Don’t put all this blame on me."

"Anyway, DJ and Geoff. Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening."

You feel a hand on your shoulder. You look behind you to see your punk friend giving you a worried expression.

"I heard what Eva did to you today. Are you okay?" Your eyes soften and you smile one of those special sweet smiles at him.

"I’m fine now, thanks for asking."

" _Harold!_ "

You see your teammate get his marshmallow with a smile, Eva looking at the ground with a sad expression.

"Eva, the dock of shame awaits."

"Nice. _Really_ nice." She gets angry at all of you and stands up, clearly not accepting the fact that she just lost. "Who needs this lame-o TV show anyway!"

"Ow!" She kicks Chris in the leg and grumbles insults under her breath as she leaves, Chris massaging his leg before giving you all a smile. "Have a good night sleep tonight! You’re all safe."

* * *

You sigh when you look at the camera in the bathroom stall. "I voted for Eva… I know I said that I was only voting for Ezequïel and all... because he’s sexist as fuck.... but she almost killed me. So I had too. Next time, I’ll vote for myself."

* * *

"To the killer bass!" Courtney cheers to the team and you all roast your marshmallows over the fire. As your eating your marshmallow, you meet Courtney’s eyes. You watch her give you a big smile and wink at you, attempting to send you a flirty message. It works because now your cheeks are red and you start to feel weird inside. You then feel an arm around your shoulders and you look up to see Duncan’s face being close to yours. Your cheeks get even redder, your chest killing you.

"You look tired, sweetheart. Let’s go, I’ll help you go back to the cabins." You thank him and leave with him, not noticing anything around you. Like how Duncan sent Courtney a death glare when he saw her give you a wink, your cheeks getting red. Or how Courtney got angry when she saw him put an arm around you and leave with you. And right now, you’re certainly not noticing the smirk he’s sending her, nor the fact that she’s breaking her stick in half with pure rage.

A secret war is starting that night… and you’re going to be the center of it.


	5. TDI: Dodgebrawl

**Chapter Four: Dodgebrawl**

It takes you all your strength to open the door of the lodge to even manage to go inside. You feel like your brain’s attacking you with constant electric shocks, your whole body melting under the heat. You try to ignore the pain you’re feeling after not sleeping for more than four days, walking into the place.

"Oh gosh, (Y/N)! Are you alright?" You turn around to see your friend Lindsay, who’s currently sitting across Beth and Heather. She has a very worried look on her face and is trying to not attack you with a hug. You smile at her, even though the pain is unbearable.

"I’m fine, Lindsay. I’m just very tired. Hey, do you want to do something tonight? Maybe we could talk about your crush and all."

She blushes in embarrassment and you can tell that she wants to talk to you later. She’s about to answer you when Heather coughs. You squint your eyes at the girl, not buying one second that she’s sick. Meanwhile, Lyndsay’s features completely change from happy to sad.

"I’m sorry, (Y/N). I... can’t tonight." Heather coughs some more. "I mean, I think.... it would be best... if we’re not friends anymore…?"

Even if you know that Heather’s manipulating your friend, you can feel the panic starting to attack your nerves. You try to stay calm nonetheless, trying to ignore the pain that is getting worse.

"… why?"

"It’s just... we’re on different teams now and maybe it’s not a good idea to be friends?"

_Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. I hate you, Heather. I hate you! You’re taking my first friend here away from me! I hate you!_

"Alright." You don’t try to fight, it will probably make things worse. You just wish you could punch that smirk on Heather’s face. "I mean, I’m not okay with that, but okay. If you ever change your mind or need to talk, just know that I’m here for you."

With that, you go sit down at your team’s table without even taking your breakfast. You slightly hear Courtney trying to tell you something, probably something along the lines "It’ll be fine" or "She wasn’t a great friend anyway.", but you don’t pay attention. Feeling like you’re dying, you put your head down on the table and try to win a couple of minutes of sleep.

"Duncan! You look like crap." Curious, you look up enough to see Duncan staring at the host.

"Stuff it." The boy then puts his head back on the table. You’re about to do the same when Chris stops you.

"Woah, (Y/N). You’re even worse."

"It’s because I’m dead inside. Look out, I might go and eat your brain if I’m strong enough." Your voice is monotone and emptied of life, but your pain seems to ease a little when you see Chris lose his smile from your comment.

"Harold snored all night." Courtney complains about what everyone’s thinking, all trying to stay awake. You just put your head back to the table as you hear the psychopath laugh.

"Four nights with no sleep? How much are you earning, dude?" Chris’ asking this question more to Duncan than to anyone else, the boy raising his head with a pissed off face.

"Wanna find out?!" Chris raises his hands in surrender.

"No, no!" He smiles awkwardly. "It’s cool."

That’s when the door opens and everyone gasps. You decide to look up once more and you can’t help yourself but smirk when you see the fake mustache on Harold. You turn your attention to Duncan and your smirk grow wider.

"Your work, I suppose?"

"You know me so well, princess."

He then proceeds to go back to sleep while Harold sits down beside you, everyone starting to laugh at him. Not knowing why people are laughing, the boy gets frustrated.

"Okay, what!"

"Someone mess with your face, dude." You’re kind of sad that Geoff told the truth, but you still laugh when you see Harold take out a mirror of his pocket. You weren’t expecting him to be happy about it though... but whatever.

"Hey everyone! It’s Gwen!" Your head snaps up and you look at the front door as fast as you can, your heart starting to beat you up again. A big smile grows on your face and your whole body lose its tension. It feels like your pain is completely gone now and yes, you know you don’t have a chance against Trent, but you can’t stop yourself to develop feelings for that hot goth girl… even when she’s walking to her table like a zombie. Yeah, you don’t have a chance with her. Maybe she’s not attracted to girls anyway… You should forget about her, but you can’t. Why can’t you stop thinking about her?

Since Duncan’s asleep, Courtney’s the only one noticing the changes in you as soon as Gwen entered the room. It’s pretty obvious that the blue-haired girl is having a huge effect on you, more than Duncan and herself together could have. Feeling pissed off, she sends Gwen a dirty look and tries to control her rage. Not only is this girl the reason for the team’s _second_ loss, but she’s also taking you away from her!

Well, taking away might be a strong way to put it… since she just met you a week ago and you’re not together… but still!

Gwen then gets out of your sight and the pain in your head comes back to hit you like a huge rock in the face. You close your eyes and grunt a little, resting your head on Courtney’s shoulder to rest. This stops her from sending a long deathly stare to the other team, making her cheeks redder than ever before.

"Hey, fish heads! Way to kick out your strongest player! Why don’t you just give up now?"

Your eyes open up to lay on the saddest person you’ve ever met in your life: Heather. Some of Chef’s food fly around the room to go straight to Heather’s face, only to attack Gwen instead once the fake eyebrows girl decides to step aside. You feel worried about your obvious crush, but you decide to let it go. You don’t need that much attention to yourself right now. And, sure, Courtney would have preferred to hit Heather with that horrible food, but hitting Gwen is still making her very happy.

"Hey, listen up! Your next challenge begins in ten minutes! And be prepared to _bring it_!"

* * *

You’re standing up in a large gym surrounded by thick glass walls, trying your best to stay awake and not fall on the ground. Bridgette is staying close to you, helping you stay awake by talking to you and stopping you from falling and hitting the ground. You smile tiredly at her. You’re so lucky to already have a great friend.

Your heart shatters as you take a look at Lindsay. You already miss her.

You hear the thick glass door open and then close, looking back only to see Duncan finally arriving and falling asleep on the bleachers. Wait, no. He’s looking at you guys, pointing his finger at you all with a menacing glare.

" **Wake me up and it’ll be the last thing that you do.** " He then proceeds to hit his head on the bench and fall asleep.

_But I’ve woke him up before... Does that mean he killed me and I’m a ghost now? That would be awesome._

"This is all your fault, you know! You and your snoring face!" You turn around to see Courtney screaming in Harold’s face, the boy not looking like he’s scared of her in any way.

"It’s called a medical condition, GOSH!"

You cringe, you ears suddenly getting attacked by the horrid sound of a whistle, only to see Chef marching towards you all. Everyone looks at him as he passes in front of you, sending numerous disappointing looks and rolling his eyes. Once the man stops to stand beside Chris, the host’s smile grows out.

"Today’s challenge is the classic game of dodgeball. The first rule of dodgeball is-"

"Do not talk about dodgeball?" Noah smoothly references the movie _Fight Club_ , which gains Owen’s laugh and a smirk from you.

"… as I was saying, if you get hit with the ball..." The host proceeds to hit Courtney in her gut with the famous ball. "… you’re out."

"You can’t do that!" Courtney grunts in pain and throws the ball back. You ask her if she’s okay and she gives you a positive nod, happy that you gave her some attention.

"If you catch the ball, the thrower gets send out and the catcher gets to bring in another team member out on the court."

"Okay, guys?" You raise your hand, catching the attention of your teammates. "Just so you know, I’m super good to avoid the balls, but I’m very bad at catching them and throwing them."

"That’s good to know."

"Geoff, try to hit me." Your teammate gets the ball from Chris while and Chef gives another one to the host. "If you’re holding a ball, you can use it to deflect a ball. But if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you’re out."

"So, what do I do again when the ball comes at me?" Lindsay doesn’t even have the time to finish her question that Geoff’s already throwing the ball at Chris.

"You dodge!" The host, like he just said, deflect Geoff’s ball with the one in his hands, which then makes Lindsay end up on the floor with a bump on her head. You resist the urge to help her. She said she didn’t want you two to be friends anymore, so you’re not gonna act like a one.

"You have one minute until game time."

* * *

You’re sitting on the bleachers beside a sleeping Duncan, you and your teammates watching the teams prepare for the match. Since you’ve clearly stated that you can’t throw or catch, Courtney told you that you could sit the first round out… and you’re super fine with that. You listen to Sadie talk to you about how Katie’s very good at dodgeball, also seeing your friend Bridgette give gooey eyes to Geoff.

_Hm… Interesting._

"Bring it on, fishes. Otherwise winning three in a row just won’t be as satisfying."

"Shut up, Heather! You don’t even have real eyebrows!" Heather gives you a shocked expression.

"And nobody likes you! Not even your team!" Surprised by Sadie’s comment, you give her a high five, feeling proud of her. The chuckles from everyone around is enough for you. Heather deserves way more than that for breaking one of your friendships.

This is just a start.

"Both teams ready? Best of five games wins! Now, let’s dodge some balls!"

As soon as you hear Chef give the signal, you and your teammates scream motivation phrases to the rest of your team, all of you stopping when Tyler accidentally hit Sadie in the face. Worried, you ask the girl if she’s okay and she slowly nods. Then, you see Owen run over to your team like he’s in rage and hit Tyler with one of the balls. Your companion, ashamed, come back to sit down at the bleaches and you shake your head at him. You see Harold try to hit Leshawna by doing some mojo stuff, feeling hopeful a little, but you lose it completely he gets hit by her just after missing her. But, you somehow regain it when Katie hits Lindsay in the face.

"Yes! Let’s go, Katie! You can do it! You’re the best! We all believe in you-" You dodge the ball from Heather just in time, this one hitting Tyler right in his stomach.

"What the heck was that? Ref, he’s not even on the court!"

"I agree with Courtney! That was so uncalled for!" After that scream of yours, you think that you might always agree with Courtney. After all, you also agree with her when she tries to hurt Heather with the ball. Pretty sad that Owen stopped it.

And it’s even sadder when Chef puts Courtney out.

"What. The. Fuck." You try your hardest to not let your rage go out again. You don’t like losing control of your anger. You see Courtney sits down behind you and you give her a reassuring smile. She sends you one back. She’s about to start a conversation with you when you turn away from her, your focus now all on Gwen getting on the court.

How is it that every time she can finally spend some time with you, that goth girl’s taking you away just from being there!?

Let’s just say that when the blue-haired girl gets kicked in the head and falls, Courtney starts to believe that the karma’s on her side.

"Are you okay, Gwen?" You see your ultimate crush look at you from the distance as she sits down on the bleachers. She sends you a tired sweet smile and a thumbs up, making you crazy blush and Courtney mad. That’s when you notice that your friend Bridgette is giving you a dirty knowing look, making you blush even more.

Now, both of you had some things to talk about later.

* * *

You can’t believe your team has lost against Cody. How did he make an electric ball!?

"We can do this! We just gotta believe in ourselves!"

"Oh, I believe." Courtney talks calmly to Harold and then lashes out. "I believe you suck!"

"Yeah! You throw like a girl!"

"Tyler." Your voice is calm, but the young boy can tell by your tone that you’re very serious. "You do realize that Ezequïel got kicked out of the show because of comments similar to these? Maybe think before speaking next time."

"Yeah, and you should talk, Tyler. What was that!?" Courtney points to the field, clearly disappointed.

"That was a warm-up throw! Look, I can dominate this game. Just give all the balls to me."

_Why do I feel like this is going to be a mistake?_

* * *

You’re still sitting this one out and you’re still pretty happy about it since you’re not good at this game. This time, Courtney made a point to be sitting right next to you, but she still needs to make a move on you. She notices the shirt that you’re wearing and smiles.

"What’s the band on your shirt?"

You look beside you to see that Courtney was the one to ask you that, which surprises you a little. You smile at her, happy to have someone interested in your favorite band.

"It’s (Y/F/B). I got it at a concert a year ago. It was one of the best moments of my life."

"Really? How is it so?"

"Well, first I got to see my favorite band of all time with my best friends, which is pretty awesome. I was also in the first row and I was **so** happy. The music was loud, the members were amazing live and everyone around me were so cheerful, I could just feel alive! And a guy also gave me the best and also the cheesiest pick-up line ever."

She chuckles. "I’m glad that the concert was so great. But the best and cheesiest pick-up line ever? I demand a demonstration."

You slightly smirk. "Alright. You ask for it."

You calm yourself a little, then give her a sweet smile.

"Would you like to see a magic trick?"

After giving you a suspicious look, she replies a "yes" to your question. When you ask her to hold her hand out, Courtney thinks that you’re going to do some kind of crappy magic trick, but she still does what you ask. When you take her hand within yours and look deeply into her eyes, she waits, drowns into your (E/C) orbs. Your smile grows into a sweeter one and makes her heart melt.

" _Isn’t this moment magical?_ "

Her whole body tries to shut down and she blushes madly, not knowing what to answer to that. So you two simply stays like this for a while, holding hands and looking into each other's eyes with blank minds. You’re so deep into this that you don’t even notice how the game’s progressing. Then, you hear Chef signals the end of the match and you notice what’s happening, your cheeks getting hot. You look away from her black eyes and her freckles, your heart beating fast and your stomach twisting around. You let go of her hand, feeling incredibly stupid. Why did you do that? What was the point of using that on her? And why are you feeling so weird and happy about it?

As for Courtney, she couldn’t have been happier to have this moment with you, even though you cut it short. That gets to mean something to you, right? You’re even the one who started it! Well, at least she can say that neither Gwen nor Duncan got that with you, which is making her feel even better.

Reality kicks in when you both see that your team lost again.

"Hey! It’s two against zero. How does it feel to suck so much?" Heather asks this with a smirk on her face, really trying to get one of you guys angry. Harold decides to answer her question truthfully.

"Not very good...."

"It’s not over yet!" Courtney loses her smile and sighs. "It is _so_ over..."

* * *

You guys are all sitting on the bleachers, minus Duncan who’s sleeping, and you’re all depressed.

"Okay, this is bad. One more game and we lose the whole challenge. Again!" You all give Courtney an annoyed look. "We can’t let that happen, people! We need someone strong, someone mean, someone who will crush those stupid Gophers into the dirt!"

"You mean like the punk guy sleeping next to us?" You ask that question while pointing at Duncan, who haven’t move since the beginning of the challenge. "Because your speech sure does sound a lot like him."

You all look down at him, slowly processing the idea.

"Nuh-hu. We wake him up, he’ll kill us."

"He won’t kill us, DJ. He wants to win too!" Courtney might have a point, but she’s not winning anyone over. You look down at Duncan, then at everyone, then at Duncan, then at everyone...

Then you walk over to him.

You sit down beside Duncan and ignore the rest of the conversation as you slowly put your hand on the punk guy’s hair, starting to pet him. Maybe you’ll die, maybe not. The truth is: you’ve never seen someone getting mad when they’ve been woken up like this.

You hear him make a sound that is between a purr and a grunt, which makes you smile. You approach your head to him.

"Duncan. Duncan, wake up." You see him open one eye at you, clearly annoyed. You put your hand away and still smile, which annoys him. But somehow, you’re still alive.

" **Give me one reason to not hurt you.** " Your smile grows wider, but you then let on a dramatic face.

"Sir, our men are falling one after one and we’re losing on the battlefield. We need the strength and the thirst for revenge of our captain, or we’ll be completely decimated by their flames."

He just stares at you in complete silence before you see him hide his face, hearing him laugh.

"You’re such a dork."

"And that’s why you like me. Now wake up, we need you and your great intelligence."

He gets his upper body up from the bleachers, still annoyed even if he’s still chuckling. He looks at you and crosses his arms over his chest, smirking.

You feel like this is not over yet.

"And what do I get from this, sugar?"

"Aside from getting invincibility and seeing the other team lose?"

"Yeah, aside from that."

"Well, I guess I’ll own you a favor." He seems a little taken aback by your answer, especially since he was about to give you that deal, but he keeps his smirk on.

"Are you sure? I’m not exactly the most trusting guy to owe a favor to."

He sees you quirk an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, but at least with you, the favor might be fun. And you’re my friend. I trust you."

You don’t understand why he looks like he’s getting a little pissed off about your answer. It’s actually because he’s not liking the fact that he **likes** that you trust him so much… or that you think he’s fun. He sighs, the boy rolling his eyes at you.

" _Fine_ , I’ll play. On one condition: those guys do what I say when I say it."

"Deal."

"Well, who’s gonna wake him up?"

"I did it, Courtney! And I’m still alive!" You hug her from behind and point at the punk guy, who’s giving you two a weird look. When the team sees him awake and a little grumpy, they all gasps.

"Oh my god, (Y/N), what were you thinking! You could have died!"

"Never two without three!" You chuckle at Courtney’s worried expression and free her from your embrace, your serious face coming back. "The deal is to do what he says when he says it."

Duncan walks into the group and catches everyone’s attention.

"Here’s a strategy I picked up during my first visit at juvie. It’s called "rush the new guy"."

* * *

You’re sitting this one out again and you’re very happy about it. Normally, you were supposed to go, but since you did a great job waking your grumpy friend up, they let you sit this one too. Your whole objective is to never get on the field while your teammates still think you’re awesome.

Yes, you do know that this won’t work. But you can still dream, right?

You smile proudly when you see your team get Owen kicked out in less than two seconds. This strategy is going to let you win, you’re pretty sure about that.

"Yes! Let’s go, Killer Bass! You guys are the best!"

Soon enough, your team has won and you can’t stop yourself from screaming in delight. Every time you played dodgeball in your school, no matter who you played with, your team always lost. But now, you’ve just won a match! And your happiness is so high that you and your teammates immediately come see the others on the field. While you see Sadie hug Katie, you give Duncan a high five.

"Looks like we’re taking advantage of the battlefield, Captain." He just rolls his eyes at you, but you see him smile a little anyway.

"I think we should do the same thing all over again. So, Harold and (Y/N), sit this one out too."

_Yes! My plan is working! Muahahaha!_

"But I sit the last one out!"

"Don’t worry, Harold. It’s for the good of the team." You try to cheer him up a little while patting him on the back, the boy kind of reminding you of one of your little brothers back at home.

While your team crushes down the Gophers again, you notice Heather coming back with a depressed Lindsay beside. The fake eyebrow girl found your ex-friend hanging out with Tyler, which is "against the rules". You just wish you could go to Lindsay and give her a big hug, but you can’t. She looks at you from the distance and you send her a reassuring smile, which seems to make her feel a little better.

Then... your team wins.

"Oh my god! I love you guys so much! You’re so great!" Too much? Probably, but you’ve never been that happy in a long time. Meanwhile, your words are having a positive effect on the team, mostly on two of your close friends. That’s when Tyler suddenly comes back from “somewhere” and sits down beside you, Courtney giving him a suspicious look.

"Where _were_ you?"

"Nowhere!"

"You were with that blond gopher girl, weren’t you?"

"No...." He looks at you from the side, seeing that you and Courtney are not believing his response. "… maybe... So?"

"So, are you guys together?" You ask that with pure joy, ignoring the fact that you’re making him uncomfortable. Lindsay and he would be so cute together!

"No!" Courtney stops Tyler from answering you. "She could have got you to spill all of our weaknesses to her!"

"Sorry to bring it down to you, Courtney, but that’s not her style. I mean, knowing her, she probably just wants to make out with him."You grin and Courtney sighs at you, Tyler just getting redder by the minute. That’s when Chris talks.

"Okay, this is it! The final tie-breaking game!"

* * *

Strategy time. You and your team are all in a circle, trying to discuss this serious topic very far away from everyone else.

"Okay, who’s going in?" Duncan asks this to no one in particular.

_Not me, please. Not me, not me, not me, not me-_

"I think it’s (Y/N)’s and my turn."

_Dammit, Harold. I don’t want to play!_

"No way! I mean, (Y/N) can go on the field, but not you! We actually have a chance to win this!"

_Dammit, Courtney! Now Harold is sad and I have to play!_

You silently watch Harold go back to the bleachers as you stay on the field with Courtney, Geoff, Bridgette, and DJ. God, you don’t want to play.

"Gophers, Bass! Let’s send this sample into the lab and see what you’re made of!"

You simply step aside so that one of the balls doesn’t touch you, keeping doing this for a while until your team takes out Cody and the Gophers takes out Bridgette. For a long time, you see both teams lose their teammates and exchange their place with another one when they get hit… Everyone but you.

Because you just keep avoiding the balls without much effort.

In the end, Harold joins you guys on the field, very happy to finally be able to play, until Duncan tells him to go behind everyone with you. As he approaches you, you send him a reassuring smile, but you lose it when you see Courtney get hit right in the face.

"That’s for the oatmeal!" Gwen smiles proudly and Leshawna laughs. You frown, opposite feelings attacking you. Not only do you slightly hate Gwen for hitting Courtney, but you also feel proud that she got to hit someone. Why is being human so complicated?

The game continues and you keep dodging the balls. Soon, Geoff is down, then Leshawana… then Duncan is out! And as you’re seeing Gwen about to be beating up, Cody jumps in front of her and gets kicked in his balls.

_Ouch._

That’s when you see Gwen and DJ take out one another at the same time, leaving only you and Harold against Owen.

"Oh, fuck..." You start to remember a match of dodgeball from when you were little. You were the only one left in your team against almost everyone else from the other, and the balls just keep coming at you… but you avoided them all.

As you said, you’re the best at dodging, but the worst at catching and throwing. And in that match, after almost thirty minutes of them not touching you with the ball, nor you catching it or throwing it back, you’ve decided to let them win so that you could all go home.

Strangely, you feel like this might be another match like this, where you’ll just avoid every throwing ball that Owen has, but you’ll never be able to throw them back at him and you’ll have to give up. And then, you’ll be sent home.

"Sorry guys, but you gotta go down!" You look at Harold and you suddenly gain some huge determination, a strange aura coming off you two. You give each other a nod and look back at Owen, smirking. While you simply chuckle darkly, Harold starts to do weird moves again.

You can dodge forever, you know that. But can Owen keep **throwing** forever?

You avoid two balls from Owen like you always do, stepping aside and jumping up a little, while Harold turns on one of his feet like a ballet dancer and then do an epic limbo move.

…

Let’s not focus on who looked more badass at that moment.

"Time out, time out!" You and Harold sit down on the bleachers, your teammates taking care of you two with joy radiating from them.

"Man, you guys got dodge! Where did you learn to do that?"

"Figure skating. What about you, (Y/N)?"

"At my primary school, you had to develop special skills to dodge a hundred balls going off on the playground all the time, cause you could end up with a nose bleed and a possible concussion every five seconds."

Yeah, that place wasn’t really... secured.

"Guys, that was awesome! But dodging isn’t enough." You give Geoff a worried look and then look at Courtney.

"He’s right. To win this, you either have to throw them out-"

"Which we all know you can’t do."

"-or catch the ball. Can one of you guys do it?"

"For me, catching is more of one chance out of two. Can you catch, Harold?"

"Definitely."

"Awesome! Now go catch that ball!"

* * *

As Harold and you wait for Owen to throw the balls, you can hear your teammates chanting your names over and over. You start to panic when you see your opponent preparing his deadly throw.

" _Cowabunga!_ "

The big guy delivers two balls at the same time, one going at the speed of the sound to Harold as the other one goes right into your face. You hear Harold get kick unto the wall made of glass behind you. You just close your eyes in fear, putting your hands in front of you to protect yourself even a little.

You don’t feel anything and it’s silent. Then, you hear Chef’s whistling, Chris’ voice announcing the winner.

" _The Killer Bass win!_ "

Your whole team scream in pure joy and you open your eyes, confused. You look behind you to see Harold get up, holding the ball proudly in his hands. He goes straight to you and you smile brightly at him.

"You did it! You catch the ball!"

"We both did, (Y/N)."

You look down at your hands, seeing the ball preciously locked in them. Shock crosses your face and you let go of the red ball, looking up at Harold again. Both him and you suddenly get in the air, getting carried outside by your team. You put your fists high up in the air, screaming your happiness as loud as you can.

"We won! We _finally_ won!"

* * *

"I guess (Y/N) and I are kind of role models now that we both won the dodgeball competition. People will probably all want our autographs when this show is over and stuff."

* * *

"I caught the ball! I caught the ball! I’ve never caught the ball in my life!!" The excitement is visible on your face. "Mom, Dad! Are you proud of me?"

* * *

It’s night time and you’re outside of the cabin, currently sitting down on the stairs as you wait for Bridgette to get out. You two decided earlier that you would take a walk on the beach and talk about stuff in general… a.k.a. crushes. You stare at the night sky, smiling at all the stars you can see out here in comparison to where you live. You hear the door open and you turn around to see your blond friend closing the door behind her and, as soon as she sees you, she sends you a smirk.

"So, you’re ready to talk about those feelings you have for Gwen?" Her smirk grows wider when your eyes pop out, your face getting redder. You stand up and move your arms around, panicking.

"Oh my god, shut up! What if someone hears you!" She just laughs at you and goes down the stairs to join you.

"Awn, don’t worry (Y/N), everyone’s asleep by now. I’m sure no one heard me."

You let out the tension in your body by breathing out, before giving her a sly smile.

"Oh, really? Then I guess you won’t mind if I say that you have a crush on _GEOFF_!"

You just laugh out loud when Bridgette runs away to the beach, dragging you by your hand as her face gets even redder than yours. As you two disappear behind the horizon, the door opens to reveal a very confused Geoff. He heard someone scream his name from outside… but there’s no one there? That’s when he sees Duncan stepping out of the shadow from the cabin and get in.

"Hey, dude. Do you know if someone screamed my name out there?"

" **No.** "

And that’s all he said for the rest of the night, trying to digest the new information you gave him without knowing.


	6. TDI: Not Quite Famous

**Chapter Five: Not Quite Famous**

" _Alright, campers. Enough beauty sleep. It’s time to show us what you’re made of!_ "

Hearing Chris’s voice, you finally open your groggy eyes and find the other four girls already up, all trying to get ready as fast as they can. You grunt like a bear and stretch out your body, drawing someone’s attention. Courtney’s eyes soften for a moment as she watches you get up… then she throws your clothes right into your face.

You take the clothes off your head, confused as to why they’re suddenly there. When your consciousness’ finally wakes up, you look around and send a thumbs up to your brown-haired friend, the girl giving you a look that means "go take a shower". That’s when you decide to leave to the communal bathrooms, Courtney watching you from the corner of her eye.

"You like her." Bridgette’s voice makes her jump out of her skin and she looks back at her, a bit panicking in the inside. She notices that the pink girls are gone, the blond teenager giving her an unreadable look.

"No, I don’t."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I do-"

"You think I haven’t noticed how you look at her? With kind eyes and a small smile?" The blond grows a little smirk. "Or that every time she touches you, you get a blush? Or that you always get angry when she starts to give attention to someone else? Or that-"

"Okay, okay! Fine! I like her! A lot! But don’t tell her!" Bridgette’s smirk only stretches out and Courtney sighs, sitting down on a bed. "How much do you know, already?"

"I know you’ve been feeling like this ever since the beach, on the first day." Courtney gives her a surprised look and the blond loses her smirk. "What? You guys were right in front of me! I’m not dumb."

The used to be C.I.T. massages her temples. "What else?"

"I also know that Duncan has some sort of feelings for her as well." Courtney laughs darkly and the atmosphere changes a little.

"If that idiot thinks he can get her before me, he’s dead wrong."

"We both know he’s not the problem..." Bridgette waits for Courtney to look back at her before she continues. "She likes Gwen."

"It won’t last, I know it." She hates the fact that Bridgette is looking at her with sad eyes and an empathetic smile. "And I know she likes me!"

"She also likes Duncan." Courtney’s starting to hate the blond now. "She likes both of you, she just doesn’t know it yet. All she can think and talk about is Gwen."

"If she only talks to you about Gwen, how do you know she likes me or that punk idiot?"

"Her reactions at the last campfire were pretty clear to me."

That’s when Courtney realizes something and gives Bridgette a suspicious look.

"Why are you telling me this?" She watches the surf girl sighs and gets up from her bed, the girl walking towards the door.

"Gwen doesn’t like (Y/N), she likes Trent. (Y/N)’s brain already knows that, of course, but not her feelings. One day, she’s going to be heartbroken and vulnerable and she’s going to fall either for you or Duncan." She looks back at the brown-haired girl and she gives her an even sadder smile. "And I don’t like to judge but, for now, you seem like a far greater choice. So try your best, okay?"

She gets out o the cabin, leaving Courtney alone with her thoughts.

* * *

You sit down beside Bridgette on some wooden bleachers and, when you look at her, you can’t stop yourself from feeling like she’s not herself. That excessive smile of hers is not something that is making you feel safe.

"Okay, Bridgette. Why are you being weird?"

"What do you mean, why am I being weird? I’m just smiling."

"Your smile is weird. Why? Why is your smile weird?"

"My smile is not weird. It’s my normal smile!" Her smile gets wider and more terrifying. That’s when something clicks in your head.

"You’re hiding something from me." She loses her smile and looks around, a little nervous. "What is it?"

She’s about to tell you something when you get hit in the head by Tyler’s arm, making you forget about your friend being weird.

"Ow! What the hell, man?"

"Sorry, (Y/N). I had to catch Lindsay’s kiss."

"I’m pretty sure you could have done that without hitting me in the head, dude." You notice that Duncan’s right beside the failed gym boy. "Oh, hey, Duncan! How are you today?"

" **I’m fine.** " His voice is pretty dark and distant, which stops you from continuing the conversation you wanted to have with him. Your brain attacks you with questions as to why he’s acting like that, making you the bad person in every scenario. He doesn’t hate you... does he? You feel pain shot your whole body, Chris appearing on that weird amphitheater.

"Welcome to our brand new, deluxe, state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater."

"I think you got scammed, Chris! It looks like shit!" His mean look makes you forget about the hatred you have for yourself and you smirk, proud.

"Anyway, guys. This week’s challenge is a summer camp favorite: a talent contest."

You grunt and put your tired head in your hands. Bridgette asks you why you’re reacting like that and you sigh, simply telling her that you’ll explain it later.

"Each team has eight hours to pick the three most talented campers. These three will represent them in the show tonight. Sing, dance, joggle! Anything goes as long as it’s legal!"

You see Chris give Duncan a long look and the punk guy snaps his fingers, clearly disappointed. You resort the urge to ask him what he wanted to do, considering how he responded to you earlier.

"You’ll be judged by our resident talent scout, former D.J., V.J., and rap legend Grand Master Chef, who will show his approval via the chef-o-meter." Chris points up at a specific space up in the air. "The team that loses will send one camper home tonight. Good luck!"

* * *

You watch Katie and Sadie do regular dance moves on some music, wishing that you could just skip this whole challenge altogether. Don’t get me wrong, you think that the fake twins are pretty good at their own thing. Sadie even makes the split move, for Christ’ sake! No, it’s just that you hate talent contests. Why? Probably because every time you did something in front of a public, it didn’t end with a positive note.

You hear Courtney refuses the fake twins act, watching more people go on and off before your eyes. You feel a pat on your shoulder and you turn around to see your blond friend giving you a worried look.

"Are you okay?"

You sigh. "I don’t have great experiences with talent contests."

Her worried look turns to a mix between a sad one and a disappointed one. "Awn, really? I was going to tell you to audition. With you in the three, we will definitely win! Just think of it, you, on the stage, people being in awe at you while you're-"

"Singing? No, thank you, I hate that."

She quirks an eyebrow at you. "No! I mean, your voice is beautiful, I heard you in the shower, but I know you wouldn’t be able to do that."

You give her a suspicious look. "Then what were you going to suggest, then?"

Her smile grows wider. "Do some of your magic tricks, of course! That stuff you showed me on the beach the other night? It was awesome!"

Your face gets so red from her compliment that you have to hide it under your hands. "Oh god, no. That was so embarrassing."

"(Y/N), stop doing that. You’re great! I know we could win if you do a magic trick!"

You look at her between your fingers and sigh when you see her big smile. "Look, Bridgette... I appreciate you trying to push me out and go into the world, but I’m not ready yet."

She gives you an empathetic smile and squeezes your left shoulder. "Alright. Just know that I’m here if you change your mind."

* * *

Next thing you know, you’re all in awe at DJ, giving him great applause.

"That was so beautiful." You’re trying to stop yourself from crying. "I never thought I would see something so beautiful in my life."

Courtney hears your comment and sigh. "Okay, sign him in. Next!"

"Oh, me!" You look beside you to see your friend walk in front of the group. "I can stand on my hands for twenty minutes, watch!"

Surely, she starts to stand on her hands.

"Okay, that would be cute if you were a monkey. I just don’t think it’s quite what we’re looking for. Next!"

When your friend comes back to you, you give her an apprehensive look. "Did you auditioned so that I would feel like I have to do it?"

She gives you a sly smile. "How do you know me so well already?"

You just roll your eyes at her before you start leaving. "I need a break, guys. See you later."

Courtney and Bridgette don’t even have time to protest that you’re already gone, Duncan giving you a worried look on your way out.

* * *

"Do you really have a diary?"

Gwen screams out a high-pitched sound when she hears your voice right behind her. You laugh at her deep blush and you sit beside her. She looks away from you, completely embarrassed.

"No! ... well, yeah.... but don’t tell anyone!"

"You’re in a TV show, the whole world knows now. It’s too late." You chuckle more when you see her look around in panic. "Don’t worry, pretty sure they don’t care. Also, you didn’t seem like the "girl who could have a diary" type to me, I’m surprised."

You bump her shoulder with yours, still teasing her for having a diary.

"Guess you have a lot to learn about me, then." She smiles at you, calming a little.

You smile at her. "Yeah, I do."

"What you got there, a journal?" Both of you look up to see Cody desperately trying to have a connection with one of you, looking rather nervous.

" **Beat it.** " You give Cody an empathetic look when Gwen gets closer to you, trying to ignore him. As he sits down beside you two, he seems to understand something and gives you two a strange smile.

"Oh, I get it. It’s private, huh? I’m down with that. Yeah, it’s cool, brah."

_Hum, Cody? You’re literally trying to read over her shoulder._

"What part of " _Beat it_ " don’t you understand?" Gwen’s trying to not kill the guy, sharing an annoyed look with you as you shrug. What can you do, really?

When you hear him smell her hair, Gwen closes her diary, takes your hand and gives him a disgusted look. "What are you, some kind of freak?"

She pulls you up with her and starts to back up a few steps, you feeling quite scared of Cody now. The oy gives you an ashamed look and tries to justify himself.

"You... you just smell really pretty. And (Y/N), I didn’t have the chance to, but I’m sure you smell as wonderful as you look."

"Oh my god." You whisper that part with a complete terrified face.

"It’s just... soap." Gwen answers him without really wanting too and she takes you with her back at the camp, almost running. Cody’s following you two from behind, smiling like crazy.

* * *

As you walk by Trent playing guitar, you stop and look around for your team, Gwen and Cody jumping over a big hole on the ground. You say your goodbyes to your crush as she goes inside her cabin, you walking over to Bridgette who was waiting for you. She smiles at you in relief, telling you right after that your three contestants are DJ, Geoff, and Courtney. Apparently, Geoff has some talent in skateboard while Courtney is going to do a solo.

"A solo?" You look at her with intrigue features. "Is she going to sing?"

"No, she’s going to play the violin."

"Violin? Nice. Maybe I could ask her to share it with me, it would be nice to practice during the summer."

Your blond friend gives you a surprised look. "You can play the violin?"

You give her a nice smile, nodding. "Yep! I learned how to play when I was four. I also know how to play piano, but it’s been a while since I’ve touched one."

"Oh my god, (Y/N). Is there something you can’t do?"

"Ah, come on. It’s not that big of a deal." She gives you an inconceivable look while you chuckle. "Come on, let’s go find the others. We got to help them practice and all."

* * *

You’re sitting on the stage with some members of your team, eating chocolate that Bridgette somehow find and you’re just... bored in general. While Duncan and DJ are playing a card game together, Courtney’s practicing her violin and Geoff is playing around with his skateboard. You also notice that Harold is just standing beside Bridgette, looking at nothing. Honestly, sometimes you just wonder if he’s okay in his mind.

"So, can you really stand on your hands for twenty minutes?" You turn around to see Geoff asking that question to Bridgette.

"Wanna bet that I can’t?"

"Oh, you’re on!"

Harold’s eyes suddenly lit up. "I’ll take a piece of that action!"

You look back at the card game when you hear DJ laugh. "Yeah, that’s like virtually impossible."

"I’ve seen her do it. I’m telling you, it’s possible." You take a piece of chocolate in your mouth as you see your friend starting to get on her hands. "Be careful to not destroy anything with your legs, sweetie."

Before you know it, one of her legs gets stuck on a rope and a huge light falls right onto Courtney. Shocked, you open your eyes and all you can see is a broken violin with a brown-haired girl almost unconscious. You run over to her, rapidly asking Bridgette to go take your emergency bag in the cabin. As you wait for her to come back, you ask Courtney to stay awake, everyone else watching in worry.

"Okay, Courtney. I’m going to ask you a couple of questions, is that okay with you?" You wait for her to nod before continuing. "What year are we?"

"2007." You calm down a little and help her upper body up from the ground.

"Alright. Next question: Where are we?"

"At camp Wawanakwa, doing some stupid TV show."

"Okay, good. You remember the challenge for today?"

"A talent contest."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She looks at your hand, then looks back at you with an annoyed look.

"Two."

"Is your vision a little blurry?"

"No, it’s not."

That’s when Bridgette comes back with the emergency bag. Thanking her, you take out the materials you need to clean the wound on her head, then put some bandages around it.

"Okay, I don’t think you have a concussion, but you should stay awake and be careful in case you do have one."

She gives you a sweet smile to thank you, then starts looking around in complete panic. She sees her violin, taking it in her arms and crying. She looks back at all of you guys, setting her eyes to Bridgette.

"You... you killed my violin!"

_Oh... good luck, Bridgette. Those things cost a looooooot of money._

"I didn’t mean too! There must be something we can do!"

You watch Bridgette try to put the destroyed violin back together without any success, shaking your head at her attempts. When Courtney starts to cry again, you give her a hug and pet her back. She grabs you like her life is depending on it and cries on your shoulder. You can feel her tears go through your clothes as you’re holding her. You send Bridgette a worried look, realizing something.

Who’s going to replace her?

* * *

"Okay. I know I’m not as good as you are at the violin, but I can do this!" You give your friend a quizzical look while she tries to win over Courtney.

"Not sure if a twenty minutes handstand is going to make us win..." You whisper that part to her as she eats her chips.

"Yeah, _you_ would be better, but you don’t want to. So _I’m_ doing it." You sigh, starting to feel like you’re dragging everyone in your long history of bad luck in talent contests. Bridgette smiles at you and gives you some chips, trying to comfort you... which kind of works.

"Bridgette, I’m so sorry about the accident. I guess you’re going to get your fifteen seconds of fame after all, huh?" You growl at Heather and she steps away from you in fear, actually thinking that you might be a dangerous beast.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" You agree with your friend; the bitch is being suspicious.

"Nothing. No one will sabotage their own teammates unless they maybe felt threaten?"

"Are you talking about yourself, Heather? Because it sure does sound like it." You stand and cross your arms, giving her your death stare. You don’t like what she’s insinuating about your friend and you’re not letting her go away with it.

"Maybe the Gophers are like that, but the Killer bass has more class. We’re a team." You nod to show that you agree with Bridgette.

"Well, maybe you’ll go down as a team, then. Oh, and easy on the chips. You don’t want to sink that surfboard of yours, do you?"

Sensing the murder thoughts of your friend, you step aside just in time to let her throw her bag of chips right in Heather’s face. You deliver the fake eyebrow girl a smirk and give your friend a high-five, proud.

_I’ll make sure that we win this contest._

* * *

You’re staying behind the scenes with DJ, Bridgette, Geoff, Courtney and the three contestants from the Gophers team: Trent, Heather, and Justin. Normally, you and your brown-haired friend would have been with the rest of your teammates on the wooden bleachers, but you’re both decided to stay here in case of an emergency. You hear Chris introduce Justin onto the stage, watching with disbelief as the boy recreates the water scene from the movie _Flashdance_. How is that counting as a talent?

You grunt when you see him get six points out of nine, but smile when you see DJ come unto the scene. You wait for his beautiful dance with his pink ribbon with anticipation, but the ribbon gets stuck around his leg and he falls, getting only two points and destroying all of your chances to win. Yes, you don’t think Bridgette or Geoff can make more points than Trent playing his guitar.

You guys are screwed no matter what.

Then, just like you said, Trent gets eight points out of nine and a sweet look from Gwen, making you both frustrated and sad. Bridgette takes your hand in hers, starting to panic.

"Are you sure you can do this?" You look back at Courtney, who is currently losing hope. You hear Bridgette’s stomach grumble and you suddenly understand why she’s panicking. She gives the two of you a smile and nods.

"Yeah, I can definitely do it. No, I’m great! Really!"

She wasn’t fine, because now she’s vomiting everywhere on stage, you and Courtney accepting that you’ll lose another challenge.

* * *

You’re helping Bridgette clean her hair from her earlier sickness. Strangely, she gained two points for her performance, which is greater than you would have imagined. As you squeeze her hair, she turns back at you to watch you burning in rage when you hear Gwen’s diary being read by Heather.

"That was so mean." You agree with Courtney.

"I’m gonna go help an act of revenge later." You whisper that more to yourself, but they both hear you and give you a smirk, agreeing with you. You then all hear a cracking sound and look back to Geoff, a broken skateboard in his hands. He looks back at you in silence, none of you saying anything.

"… oops?"

"Now what! We have to send someone out there or we’re going to lose this!"

You watch your two friends try to find a solution in despair, stating out loud what the other people on your team can do. You sigh. You have no choice now.

" **I’m going.** " Your voice is strong and filled with confidence, instantly getting you the two girls’ attention. Courtney gives you a worried look while Bridgette simply smiles like a maniac. She gets a deck of cards out of her pocket and gives it to you.

"When in the world did you get my deck?"

"Forget about that. Go make some magic."

* * *

You’re on the stage, looking back at the whole Gophers team and some of your teammates on the bleachers. Your eyes meet Duncan’s and you smile at him, but he doesn’t respond to you. Feeling incredibly nervous, you look back at the girls backstage, the two of them giving you reassuring smiles. You close your eyes.

_Come on, (Y/N). Breathe in. Breathe out._

When you open them again, you start to play rapidly with the cards in your hands, getting a few gasps from the crowd.

"For today’s performance, I would need a volunteer from the Gopher’s team to avoid any suspicion. I don’t want anyone to think that this was prepared in any way. Trent, would you like to join me on stage?"

The teenager looks surprised but gives you a positive nod nonetheless. Everyone watches the young man put his guitar down and join you, a little apprehensive on what you’re going to do. You stop playing around with your cards and show them all to Trent.

"First, Trent, I want you to touch the cards and tell me if these are normal cards." You wait for him to do what you told him and he agrees with you. "Perfect. Now, I’m gonna shuffle these cards around and when I’m done, I want you to pick one. But! When you do, I don’t want you to look at it and I don’t want you to show it to anyone. I want you to put it on your chest and wait for me to ask you to show it, got it?"

He gives you a smile and nods. "I got it."

"Pick a card."

"This one."

"You sure? You can change your mind if you want."

He gives you a suspicious look, then takes the card and puts it on his chest. "Yeah, I’m sure."

"Perfect." You throw all the cards around you, getting a few surprised sounds from the others as you look back at them. "Now, for the rest of the performance, I would need three more people from the Gophers team to join me on stage. Therefore, I would like for Cody, Lindsay, and Heather to come. Is that alright with you?"

While Heather looks very annoyed and yet surprised to be chosen, the other two looks very pleased and excited. They all join you on stage and you place them next to each other.

"Okay, now that I have everyone with me... Trent, I’m gonna ask you a question. In a deck of cards, there are two colors: Black and red. I’m gonna ask you to choose a color."

"Black."

"Black, great choice. Now, Cody. You agree with me that in the black color, there’s two suits: The Clubs and the Spades. Which one do you choose?"

The boy looks nervous from your intense stare. "Hum... I choose Clubs."

"Clubs, alright. Lindsay?"

"Yes!" Your ex-friend looks so happy right now, you smile at her.

"I’m gonna ask you to choose a number between one and thirteen."

She thinks for a while and then gives you a brighter smile. "I choose Four!"

"Four! Ladies and gentlemen, those three people chose Black, Clubs and Four. Which means that they all chose a card together: The Four of Clubs. Now, does this mean that the card on Trent’s chest is the four of clubs? Well, it all depends on one person."

You turn to Heather, who’s giving you a very annoyed look.

"Heather. I’m giving you the final decision." Your voice is dark and intense, making everyone shiver in excitation. "Now, if you want, you can stick with the Four of Clubs."

She rolls her eyes up in the air, wishing for you to finish all of this already.

"Or you can say "fuck" to these guys and chose a card yourself." Your smile grows when you see her getting interested, hearing the others grunt. "So? Do you stick with these guys decision or do you choose a card yourself?"

"I choose the Queen of Hearts." She gives you a sly smile, pretty sure that you’re going to mess up your magic trick.

You hear the audience starting to "Boo" Heather’s decision and you turn back to them, starting to talk again. "Now! All of you, you all agree with me to say that I couldn’t know that these guys would choose the Four of Clubs. And you all also agree that I couldn’t possibly know that Heather would decide to change the card and choose the Queen of Hearts.... or did I?"

While everyone waits in anticipation, you look at Trent and give him a smirk.

"Trent, I want you to look at that card."

He looks at the card and he gets shocked. "No way..." He looks up at you, then back at the card… before he shows it to everyone. "It’s the Queen of Hearts!"

"What!?"

You wear a big smile on your face when everyone starts to applause and scream for you, Heather sending you a pissed-off expression.

"That was a stroke of luck!" It’s suddenly silent and you look back at Heather. "That’s not magic at all!"

She’s taken aback when you give her a sly smile.

"You’re right, Heather." Everyone gasps at your comment. "After all, how can you know that this wasn’t only a chance, hm? And Lindsay, I know what you’re thinking."

"You do?"

"What about the Four of Clubs?"

"Oh my god, that was exactly what I was thinking!"

"If you want, you can all look at the cards that I throw earlier to try and find it, but you won’t." You watch them all give you a suspicious look. "It’s not on the ground, not in my pocket or on me, and it’s certainly not in someone else’s pocket."

You look back at Trent. "So, **where** is the Four of Clubs, then?"

You wait a little more before pointing at Gwen’s love interest.

"Trent, haven’t you notice the card your holding is a little bit too... thick?"

His eyes open wide and his mouth hang down.

"I would like for you to tear the Queen of Hearts apart, please." You hear him torn up the card as you look elsewhere. "There’s another card inside, isn’t it?

"Yes, yes, there is!"

"Which card is it?"

"It’s the Four of Clubs!"

All you can hear is your companions screaming in awe at your performance. As you bow to thank your audience, Chris gets on stage with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen him wore.

"Grand Master Chef has declared his winner! Even though they held the lead; Screaming Gophers have been trampled by the Killer Bass." He gets closer to you and gives you finger guns. "That was awesome, (Y/N)."

You don’t even have time to respond to him that you’re feeling crushed by tons of arms. You notice that it’s Courtney and Bridgette giving you hugs, looking back at the rest of your teammates to see them all screaming in joy and jumping around. Well, not exactly Duncan, but he still sends you a smile and two thumbs up.

"And as for the Screaming Gophers, pick your favorite loser and I’ll see you at the bonfire."

* * *

For a long time, all your teammates were asking you questions as to how you did all of this, but you kept telling them the same thing: It’s a secret. Eventually, they gave up and got back to the cabins, leaving you with your personal space again. When you turn around to join them a while later, you jump out of fear and put your hand on your chest, calming down when you realize that it’s just Duncan waiting for you.

"You scared the crap out of me, dude!" He just chuckles at you and you give him a mean look. "Stop laughing! What if I have died of a heart attack?"

"Oh, please. You survived death almost three times. Like seeing me could suddenly end you."

You laugh at his comment before giving him a sad look, the coldness from the morning coming back to your mind. "So, you don’t hate me anymore?"

He gives you a quizzed look. "I never hated you in the first place. What made you think that?"

"This morning." You start to play with your hands, getting more and more nervous. You hear him sigh and feel his hands on your shoulders, looking up to see him pretty close to you.

"I don’t hate you, okay? Stop thinking things like that." You can feel his breath on your face and you see him give you a puzzled look. "I was having a bad morning and it had... nothing... to do with you."

His piercing blue eyes dig into your (E/C) ones, waiting for a response from you.

"...you’re sure?" He rolls his eyes at you.

"Yes, I’m sure. God, why you gotta be so insecure? I’m your friend, I’m not gonna turn around on you without a warning." That’s when he sees your eyes sparks your smile transforming into the sweetest one, which makes his heart beats him up all over again. God, he hates this feeling.

You then give him your biggest hug, crushing him into your little arms and hiding your face in his chest. He groans in annoyance and waits for you to let him go, but you’re still holding onto him and he sighs, putting his arms around you to give the hug back. He tries to look annoyed for the cameras, but your natural scent hits him and makes him forget to keep his bad-boy act on. He doesn’t think twice when he puts his head on top of yours, feeling you calm down in his arms. Without knowing it, he starts to smile and closes his eyes, just enjoying the moment.

You then get out of his arms and give him your sweet smile again.

"I’m tired. Let’s go back to the cabins."

You decide to walk back together, talking about boring things that, somehow, aren’t so boring when it’s you two. When you arrive, you wish him goodnight. He watches you close the door of the cabin… right before someone takes a hold of him and pulls him in the forest.

When he can finally take a look back at the person who dragged him, he’s first surprised to see an angry Courtney. Then, he smirks at her.

"Well, hello there, sweetie. Why are you so eager to see me in the middle of the woods?"

"Shut up, Duncan. I want you to stay away from her."

The punk loses his smirk and crosses his arms over his chest, looking down at the brown-haired girl with a death stare.

"So you can have her to yourself? No thank you, honey."

"I’m not letting you have her, you stupid punk!"

"And I’m not letting you have her either, you spoiled little princess."

"Why are you still going after her? I thought you’ve given up after learning about her crush on Gwen."

"I was going to, but then I heard you talk to yourself while you were getting your violin. Something about her getting over it soon, being vulnerable and having to choose one of us?" He watches her getting angrier and he just smiles more, almost evilly. "I’m not giving up **ever** , Courtney. One day, she’ll be mine."

"I already told you, asshole." She then points her finger at him. " **She’s mine.** Don’t _even_ approach her again."

"Wow, you think she’s yours, huh?"

"I don’t think it, I know it."

"Alright then." He flicks her forehead. " _Let’s see who gets her first._ "

Now, the game’s officially on.


	7. TDI: The Sucky Outdoors

**Chapter Six: The Sucky Outdoors**

This morning, Courtney practically forced you to stand beside her when you both got at the campfire site, your punk friend joining you two not so long after. He goes stand beside you and give you a sly smile as you tiredly wave at him, not noticing Courtney sending him daggers with her eyes.

"Campers, today’s challenge will task your outdoor's survival skills. I’m not gonna lie to you, some of you may not come back alive."

"Wouldn’t you go to jail if one of us dies?" You get a mean look from Chris and you smirk at him. This is becoming a routine for you, now.

"I was joking. All you have to do is spend one night in the woods." You roll your eyes and mimic yourself dying of boredom, gaining yourself a couple of laughs from the others. "Everything you need is at your team’s campsite in the forest. You just have to find it. Oh, and watch out for bears. Lost a couple of interns in preproduction."

Chris proceeds to throw two maps and compasses at the teams, ending up in Heather’s and Duncan’s hands. You’re about to ask your punk friend what sees on the map when Courtney angrily takes the items from him. She smirks at Duncan and looks down at the map, the boy sending her back an evil glare. Then they both look at you at the same time to give you sweet smiles. You don’t have time to react that they’re already getting back at killing each other with their eyes. You frown.

Why are you feeling like they’re putting you in the middle of something?

"The first team back for breakfast wins invincibility!" Chris blows an air horn and you cover your ears. "Off you go!"

"Well, what do you see on the map, Courtney?" The brown-haired girl simply looks up at you and smiles at you, pointing at the terrifying woods.

* * *

You’ve been walking beside Bridgette for an hour or two now, talking to her about your brothers and sisters back at home. Recently, she’s been asking you a lot of questions about your past, saying that you’re a very interesting person and all. Her questions come odd to you. It's like she’s asking those things to try and construct a plan or something, but you let it pass. She’s your new friend, it’s normal for her to want to know more about you, right?

She looks away and runs cover to Courtney up in the front, then you feel an arm get around your shoulders. You look up to your left to see Duncan smirking down at you, his proximity giving you a weird feeling.

"So, how are you today, sweetheart? Been sleeping pretty good?" You give send back a playful smile and give him a slight nudge.

"Since when do you want to know how I’ve been sleeping?"

"What? A friend can’t ask another friend if they’ve had a good night sleep?"

You chuckle at his reaction and breathe out, feeling tired. "Honestly, I don’t even know what a good night sleep is. I think I’ve never had one since I was four… but I’m used to it, so I’m feeling pretty good."

He sends you a worried look. "What? How come?"

"Well… my body doesn’t want to shut down. Like, even when my mind is screaming for sleep, my body just wants me to stay awake. It’s like it thinks I’m always in danger or something… and that if I fall asleep, I might die or get hurt."

"So... your body is stopping your from... sleeping?"

You chuckle again. "I know, it sounds crazy. It’s more of an unconscious thing, really. Like I never feel safe and I can’t fall asleep because of that."

You watch him think in silence for a moment before he gives you another smirk, slightly crushing your side against his. "Well, maybe if you had someone to sleep with, you’d feel safe."

Your mind goes to all the meanings this sentence could lead and your cheeks get a little red, making his smirk grow wider.

"Are you implying something? It feels like you’re implying something..."

"Maybe." His face goes closer to yours and you can feel his breath on your left cheek, his lips close to your ear. "Do you want me to imply something, sugar?"

You can feel the heat crawl on of the skin around your face, his lips brushing against your ear. Your body shivers, your breathing getting caught in your throat. It suddenly feels like your whole body wants to melt under his fingers, your mind already burned down. Why are you suddenly feeling like this?

"Hey, (Y/N). Can you help me with the map? I’m not sure about this part right there."

Conflicted feelings wash over you when you hear Courtney’s request, not sure what to think. You hear Duncan grunt in your ear and he gets away from you, clearly annoyed. Your heart calms down and your skin color turns back to its original (S/C) tone right, you joining Courtney and Bridgette up in the front right when Duncan frees you.

"Hey, I’m here. What is it?"

Bridgette disappears from your vision again as Courtney gives you the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen, her black eyes entering your soul all over again. Time slows down as the brown-haired girl shows you the map, asking you where you guys should walk after a certain part and pointing you some different spots on the piece of paper. As you’re both talking and trying to find out what to do next, your cheeks get red again, those weird and intense feelings coming back like a big wave. When you guys finally make a decision, you decide to stay close to her, your eyes looking at her form from time to time and your stomach turning upside down over and over.

Gosh, what’s happening to you? It’s like that moment in the communal bathrooms is repeating itself, but this time, your feelings have bigger weapons and are definitely trying to knock you down.

"There’s our camp, guys!"

_Oh, thank god._

* * *

You’re sitting on the ground beside the bags you found earlier, helping Tyler to count the inventory. Bored, you look around to see Duncan and Harold trying to make a fire as Geoff, Bridgette and Courtney are putting up the tent. While you see your blond friend talking to her crush, who also seems to not know how to properly talk to a girl, you notice that the fake twins and DJ aren’t there anymore. Where could they be?

"What’s for dinner, woman? I’m starving." You roll your eyes when you hear Duncan talk to Courtney like that.

"I hope you don’t expect me to dignify that with a response."

"Hey guys, look what I found!"

You turn your head at an opening of the forest, your heart melting at the sight of the cutest bunny in DJ’s arms. The next thing you know, you’re already in front of him, petting the little animal with a loving face.

"Well, I’ve never had rabbit stew before, but what the heck? I’m game."

You and DJ look at your teammates with horror. How dare they insinuate something like that!? You immediately get in front of the bunny as DJ walks back a couple of steps, both of you giving them an angry look.

"No one touches the bunny!" Some of them look taken aback by your reaction, DJ nodding to agree with your statement.

"This is my new pet! I’m calling him Bunny!"

You look at DJ with a skeptical look. "You’re calling the bunny... Bunny? Really?"

"Hey, don’t judge me, (Y/N). I’m not good with names."

"... fine." You cross your arms over your chest, pouting a little.

"You couldn’t find any food?" Courtney’s voice startles you and you watch her sigh. "Then it looks like we’re eating grubs and berries for dinner."

"Has anyone seen tweedle-dum and tweedle-idiot?"

"You mean the fake twins?" Duncan sends you a smirk and gives you a high five, already liking your nickname for the two missing girls.

But for real, you’re starting to get worried about them.

What if they die out there?

* * *

You’re all sitting around the campfire, not knowing what to do after eating all those berries and now just… waiting. You, on the other, are so hypnotized by the flames that you’re not noticing anything around you. You watch the flames dance around the pieces of wood, almost in awe. It makes you think of that scene in the first movie _Narnia_ , where the girl Lucy is listening to a song while watching a fire. Hopefully, you’re not getting hypnotized to be sent to the evil queen and die.

"Hey, be cool. It’s just an owl." You get out of your mindset to notice that your blond friend was getting scared over a bird sound.

"Sorry, I just get really freaked out in the forest."

"Awn, you want me to try and protect you from the birds' sounds, little Bridgette?" You give your friend a big hug while you tease her with your baby voice, only to hear her chuckle at you and give you your hug back.

"This reminds me of this really scary story I heard once." You send Duncan a suspicious look.

"You heard a scary story about birds sounds?" Your punk friend ignores your comment as you hear Geoff pressuring him to tell the story.

"Are you sure? Because the story I’m thinking about is pretty hardcore."

"Ouuuuh, we’re so scared." Courtney mocks Duncan as you just wait for the story to begin. You’re wondering if you don’t already know the story... After all, you keep watching horror movies all the time and you know your creepypastas pretty well.

"Alright. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. One night, a lot like this one..."

* * *

"So, suddenly, they heard this tap, tap, tapping on the side of the car. The girl started to freak out, and by this time, even the guy was starting to get scared."

Yep, you already know this story. Boring.

You look around to see that everyone is a little scared, even Courtney. Bridgette takes a hold of your arm, shaking with wide eyes open.

"So, he turned the car on, and he stepped on it. When they got back to the girl’s house, she opened the door and screamed, because there, hanging from the door handle... was the bloody hook." You roll your eyes up when you feel your arm getting squeezed, seeing Duncan get pleasure from scaring everyone. "They say that this killer is still alive, wandering these very woods. He could just be anywhere, really. Maybe even right HERE!"

You get startled when everyone starts to scream, Duncan’s scaring them by taking out a sharp hook on his right hand. He then starts to laugh maniacally and hide the hook behind his back again, Courtney suddenly standing in front of him.

"Duncan, that was so not funny!"

"Oh, yes, it was! I just wished it was all on camera! Oh wait, it is!" You frown at him when he points the cameras in the bushes, looking at them with crazy eyes.

"You are so vile, do your parents even like you?"

"I don’t know, Jumpy Mcchicken. I haven’t asked them lately.

"Don’t give him that much credit, Courtney. That story was lame."

Everyone gasps and look back at you, seeing you playing around with a stick in the fire and being bored out of your mind. It suddenly occurs to all of them that you weren’t scared for a single moment. You were just there, waiting for it to end. Duncan gives you an annoyed look and crosses his arms.

"Well, if that story is so boring to you, sweetheart, why don’t you go ahead and tell one?"

You suddenly stop playing with the fire, slowly looking up at Duncan with no expression on your face. Everyone suddenly starts to beg you to tell a story of your own, hoping that it would be less scary than the previous one. That’s when you give them your creepiest smile, making them regret asking you to do this.

" **You shouldn’t have asked me that.** "

The next thing they know, you’re up and slowly walking around all of them, taking your sweet time to put one foot down after the other. You open your mouth, letting out a deep and dark voice that send shivers down their spine.

"Years ago, after weeks of unexplained murders inside the homes of families, an ominous unknown killer was still on the rise. After little evidence has been found against this vicious killer, only one boy out of the thousand victims has survived him. This is his story."

Your feet suddenly stop and you stay in place, only looking right at the dark trees.

"That night, sleeping in the same room he’s had for his whole life, the boy had a bad dream and woke up in the middle of it." You turn your head to look at your teammates, almost like a robot, only to watch them being completely absorbed in your story. "For some reason, he saw that his window was open, even though he specifically remembered it being closed before he went to bed earlier."

You see some of them starting to get scared, wondering why the window was open.

"He got up and shut it once more, telling himself that the wind must have opened it again." You watch Bridgette shake her head, not believing this theory. "Afterward, he simply crawled back under his covers and tried to get back to sleep... but that’s when he had a strange feeling like someone was watching him."

You wait for a moment to create suspense, more teammates starting to tremble.

"Slowly, he opened his eyes to look up... only to nearly jumped out of his bed!!" You stop yourself from laughing when you see all of them trembling in fear. "Because right there, in the little ray of light, illuminating from between the little boy’s curtains.... were a pair of two eyes."

"Oh my god..." Courtney’s voice is cracking and she hugs herself. You watch Duncan starting to get uneasy. You give them back your creepy smile, the glow from the fire making your face even more terrifying.

"They weren’t regular eyes... They were dark, ominous eyes." You put your fingers around your eyelids and pulled them wide opened. "They were bordered in black, the eyelids were gone, burned by the creature itself... and just plain out terrified the little boy."

You let go of your eyelids and move on to another part of your face

"That’s when he saw the killer’s mouth." You mimic a long smile on your cheeks. "A long, horrendous smile that he had cut with his knife, making every hair on the little boy’s body stand up."

You wait again, not wanting to mess up the story.

"As he keeps staring at it, the figure stood there, watching him back." You hear some people squealed. "Finally, after what seemed like forever, the figure said it. A simple phrase, really. But he said it in a way only a mad man like him could speak."

"What did he say?" You turn your head at Geoff and feel your creepy smile get bigger.

"He said..." You go closer to the blond guy, the boy trying his best to not run away from you. " **Go... To... Sleep...** "

You step back from them, your voice getting higher and higher as you talk faster. "The boy let out a scream, sending the figure at him. He saw it pulled out a knife, aiming at the boy’s heart. The killer jumped on top of the boy’s bed, screaming "Go to sleep" over and over and over… The little boy fought him back, of course. He kicked, punched and rolled around, trying to knock the killer off of him."

Everyone’s scared now.

"That’s when the dad busted in. The killer threw the knife and it went right into the dad’s shoulder. The mad man would’ve probably finished him and killed the rest of the family if one of the neighbors hadn’t alerted the police. The police drove into the parking lot and ran towards the door while the killer turned and ran down the hallway." You watch them all sit on their butts, feeling on edge. "It’s at this moment that the little boy heard a smash, like glass breaking. "

"As he came out of his room, he saw that the window that was pointing towards the back of his house was broken. He looked out to see the killer vanish into the distance. And in his mind, printed forever, was that face. Those cold, evil burned eyes, and that psychotic and cutting smile. "

You watch them all shivers, starting to look around them.

"As for today, the police are still looking for this man. The rumors say that he lives in the forest, looking out for sleeping victims to stab. And according to an anonymous source, the only way to survive him, if you ever encounter him in those woods, is this very warning.

You walk up to them with the creepy smile. "Don’t go to sleep...."

The fire turns off and darkness surround all the teenagers, making them all scream.

" ** _You won’t wake up._** "

The screams only get louder and louder until the fire burst back on. They stop screaming when they all see you sitting in front of them and smirking proudly.

How did you make the fire go off and on again just like that? Just a little magic trick up in your sleeves.

"That, my friends, is not even that much of a scary story. I know ones that would keep you awake for _months_. You guys wanna know about that Russian experiment that turned prisoners into cannibal monsters?"

"(Y/N), stop!"

"What? You asked for it!"

* * *

You’re trying to sleep between Courtney and Duncan and… you’re not succeeding. Being stuck between two people that hate each other is stressing you a lot. Of course, almost everyone is awake because of the scary stories you and Duncan shared… so you’re not feeling alone. That’s when you hear someone shuffle around the tent, hearing DJ’s voice.

"What’s wrong, gotta go pee?"

"Like crazy, but I’m too scared to leave the tent." You feel bad to hear Bridgette being so scared. Maybe you did a little too much back then... You hear her go outside and, annoyed at yourself, you start to count in your head to try to fall asleep.

Next thing you know, some people are screaming, the tent is on fire and then, there’s no tent at all.

You all get up and look back at a sorry Bridgette (except for Duncan who’s still asleep). The blond girl is currently sitting down on the floor next to the campfire, trying to smooth down the things a little by forcing a smile.

_Oh boy, this is going to be a long night._

"Great!" You close your eyes as you hear Courtney starting to get mad, feeling Duncan waking up beside you. "That’s just great, Bridgette! Now, we have nowhere to sleep!"

"Yo, drama queen? Relax, it’s cool." You shake your head at Duncan, not being able to stop him from doing the mistake of telling an angry person to calm down.

"Cool? It’s cool!? Things could not possibly get worse!"

As if on cue, it’s starting to pour rain on all of you… and Courtney’s screams have never been that much loud before.

* * *

You wake up with the feeling of something petting your head, an arm holding you. It’s weird… but you’re very comfortable, so you try to ignore the petting and continue to sleep.

"Wake up, princess." You open your eyes to lay them on Duncan smirking, also getting the information that you’ve been sleeping on him. "If you don’t change your position, the others will wake up and see you like this."

His smirk grows wider at your confused eyes, you only staring back at him in silence. Then, you put your face back in his chest and try to fall back asleep, not caring at all about the others seeing you in this position. You feel him chuckle under you and his hand continues to pass through your hair. Guess he doesn’t care either.

Soon after, people start to wake up and gather the things up around the camp, not giving you a second look. Except for Courtney, who’s sending Duncan the most intense rage look she’s ever had, him giving her back a successful smirk. Fifteen minutes later after you not waking up, she walks back to you two and stares, Duncan rolling his eyes at her.

"(Y/N), wake up. We have to go back to the camp."

You stir up a little in your sleep and open one of your eyes to see Courtney giving you an angry look.

"... but Duncan’s comfortable..."

His smirk grows even wider at your words and Courtney’s tries her best to not burst out right in front of you.

"I don’t care. We need to go back. _Now._ "

You sigh and raise your hand to her, not having any energy to get up by yourself. Courtney takes your hand in hers and drags you up with her, before she pulls you very far away from Duncan, stepping further away into the woods to have some privacy.

"... hey... Courtney?"

She looks back at you, trying to stay serious, but she can’t help but watch in awe as you rub your eyes tiredly. You look so cute!

"Yeah?"

"Why are you and Duncan always fighting?"

Courtney looks at you in silence and forgets to answer you, taking in the sight of you in the forest with the sun rising. How can someone be so beautiful?

You notice that you haven’t gotten a response yet open your eyes at Courtney, feeling paralyzed when you see her already staring at you. Your cheeks turn red, betraying you every time. She comes closer to you and puts her hands on each side of your head, pushing away a strand of hair and caressing your right cheek with her thumb. She puts her forehead against yours, closing her eyes and breathing slowly. You just keep watching her, the warm of her breath mixing with your cold one. You don’t understand how you’re still standing upright now since you don’t feel your legs anymore.

The brown-haired girl opens her eyes again and straight out stare at your (E/C) orbs.

"You don’t have a clue, do you?"

You stay silent as you feel her hands envelop your head, her lips only inches apart from yours. It’s taking all of her strength to not jump at you at the moment while you’re just waiting, not sure of what you want. She’s about to kiss you when you hear your teammates calling out for you two, making both of you snap out of your moment.

The next you two know, you’re both back with your teammates with red faces, trying your best to forget what was about to happen.

* * *

"We’re the first ones back!"

You fall on the floor, dying from running that far for that long. Never again. Ever. What was the point of this challenge anyway? You all could have just come back to the campsite by four or five in the morning. Nothing was stopping you from doing that! So why were you all only coming back at eight?

"Oh no! They beat us here!" You look back to see Heather starting to panic, the rest of her teammates arriving after. "This is all your fault!"

"Uh-uh-uh-uh! Not so fast, Gopherinos! It seems like the Killer Bass are missing a few fish!"

_Oh god, I almost missed Chris. That night destroyed me._

"Oh, you mean Katie and Sadie? I’m pretty sure they got eaten by wolves last night." Courtney tries to save the team again.

"Darn shame." Duncan’s sarcastic voice almost make you chuckle, but you stop yourself. That wouldn’t be appropriate considering they might have died.

That’s when the pink girls come out of the woods, talking about how they were trapped in a cavern all night with a bear and almost died a couple of times. You stand up from the ground as they’re both forgiving each other for some stupid fight, you looking back at them with an annoyed expression like the rest of your teammates.

"Are you two finished with your little love fest?" Courtney waits for them to nod before continuing. "Good. Because thanks to you... we just lost the challenge!"

_Not again!_

* * *

"You’ve all cast your votes. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately hit the dock of shame, grab the boat of losers and get the heck out of here! And you can’t come back, ever!"

"It’s our third time, Chris. I think we know how the elimination works now."

"Now." Chris completely ignores you. "I can’t see you’re all tired. So tonight, I’ll just throw them to you."

_Pretty sure that you just decided **now** to throw them so you could hit me in the face with one._

"(Y/N)." You trap the marshmallow between your fingers before it hits you, making the host pout in disappointment.

"Courtney." You watch her catch the marshmallow with a huge smile.

"Duncan." While he also catches the marshmallow in his hand, he puts his arm around your shoulders and sends Courtney a smug, her giving him back a mean look. You roll your eyes at them. Why are they acting like children these days?

"Bridgette."

"DJ."

"Harold."

"Geoff."

"Tyler."

"Ladies. The final marshmallow of the evening." You watch the fake twins grasp each other. "Sadie."

_Really? I thought Katie would have stayed. She saved my life and was incredibly good at the dodgeball game. Sadie hasn’t done anything._

You sigh as you watch the two of them cry in each others’ arms. This is going to be a long night in the cabin.

* * *

While Bridgette is trying her best to take care of a crying Sadie on her bed, you walk towards the door of the cabin to get outside... but as you opened it a little, you stop your tracks, observing Courtney and Duncan both sitting on the stairs without fighting.

Can this be a total miracle?

"What do you want, now?" Courtney’s trying to kill the bugs all around her head, giving her enemy an annoyed look.

"I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I scared you." His voice is deep and doesn’t have a hint of evilness in it. You get surprised by that. Are they trying to get along?

"I was not scared! It was completely circumstantial! And there’s no such thing as a hooked man or a creepy killer with... burned eyes and a cutting smile...." You stop yourself from laughing at Courtney, not wanting them to see you yet. She’s trying very hard to be strong, but you know that those stories scared the crap out of her.

"Yeah, you’re probably right..." You see him put the hook back on his hand behind his back, rolling your eyes at him with a playful smile. "Or are you!?"

Courtney scream when she sees the hook and Duncan’s crazy eyes, all of it making it very hard for you to not laugh.

"I hate you!" She leaves him there and he laughs at her reaction. You smile, closing the door.

"You’re not going out?" You turn back to see your blond friend giving you a look from her bed, patting Sadie’s back. You send them a smile and come take Sadie’s hands in yours.

"I’m not leaving without you two here. Come on, Sadie. Let’s go have fun, it’ll make you feel better."

"I don’t want to do anything without Katie."

"Katie would have wanted you to move on and try your best to be happy. We’re gonna go eat marshmallows at the campfire, let’s go."

That’s how you convince the fake twin to get out of bed with the help of Bridgette, the three of you going back to the campfire.


	8. TDI: Phobia Factor

**Chapter Seven: Phobia Factor**

Well, when you convinced Sadie and Bridgette to go back to the campfire, you weren’t expecting to see all your teammates sitting there, but you decided to stay anyway. Right now, you’re sitting between Bridgette and Courtney, Sadie crying loudly and holding a piece of the dock that she took with her earlier.

"What do you guys want?" Hearing Courtney talk, you look up to see the Gophers smiling and offering green jelly that doesn’t look that good. "You come by to rub it in?"

"We got some extra dessert after our tuck shop party and we thought you might want some." You give Trent a skeptic look. Their smiles are too forced for them to be nice with your team.

"So, what? You’re just being nice?"

"Courtney’s right, that’s suspicious."

"Okay." Gwen sighs and point at Owen. "Owen stunk up our cabin and we need some time to air out."

"Ew." You give the big guy a disgusted look as Beth gets closer to you and Courtney, giving you a better look of the horrible green jelly with a worm in it.

"NO!" Courtney’s scream makes you jump out of your skin. "I mean, no thanks! I’m good."

"What? Are you on a diet or something?" Courtney sends an angry stare at Duncan.

"No! I just don’t like green jelly, okay?!"

DJ punches the jelly and screams, making you jump in surprise. You think you hear him say the word “snake”, but you’re not so sure. Cody takes up a little worm from the ground, smiling at DJ.

"Chill, dude. It’s just a gummy worm." You nod at his comment.

"Yeah, imagine if it was a real worm, that wouldn’t have been pretty.…" DJ sighs in fear, still trembling.

"Sorry, guys, but snakes just freak me out." You watch Tyler pat his back and confess his fear… of chicken.

"Wait… You’re afraid of chickens?"

"Wow, that’s really lame, man." You throw your shoe at Duncan’s head for judging Tyler’s fear, gaining a weird look from him while he rubs the spot you hit.

Next thing you know, everyone’s sharing their worst fear.

"What’s my worst fear?" You watch Gwen think for a moment with anticipation. "I guess, being buried alive."

"Walking through a minefield... in heels!" You send Lindsay a shocked look. You never expected her to have a fear that extreme.

"Flying, man. That’s some crazy stuff." Izzy second Owen right after his confession. You never thought that she would be afraid of flying, though.

"I’m afraid of hail." You look back at Geoff, who’s having a terrified expression. "It’s small and deadly, dude."

"Being left alone in the woods." You squeeze Bridgette’s hand in yours and give her an empathetic smile… which she gives you back.

"Bad haircuts!" You send Sadie an annoyed look.

"Oh, okay, I change mine! That’s so much scarier than a minefield!"

_Okay, Lindsay, it’s not. But, whatever._

"Having to defuse a time bomb under pressure."

"Cody, when in the world would _you_ have to defuse a time bomb?"

"I don’t know, (Y/N)! That’s why it’s scary!"

"I’m not afraid of anything."

You chuckle at Courtney as Duncan dismiss her statement, not believing her one bit. She looks back at your punk friend.

"Oh really? Then what exactly is _your_ phobia, Mr. Know-it-all?"

You all wait for Duncan’s response in anticipation, the boy dreading to give it to you. He sighs under the pressure, putting his head on his hand with an embarrassed look.

"Céline Dion music store standees."

You snort and put your hand in front of your mouth to stop you laughing, the punk immediately hiding his face in embarrassment.

"Oh, I love Céline Dion! ... what’s a standee?"

Sometimes, you don’t understand what went wrong with Lindsay’s brain.

"You know... that cardboard cut-out thing that stands in the music store?"

"Don’t say it, dude!"

_Awn, Duncan’s scared. How cute._

"Kinda like a lifesize, but flat Céline." Trent continues to explain what a standee is to Lindsay, completely ignoring Duncan’s demand.

"So, if we had a cardboard standee right now..." Courtney starts her sentence with a teasing smile and you chuckle.

"Shut up!" Your punk friend points at Trent. "What about you guys?"

"Okay, well, I hate mimes. Like a lot." The young man then looks at you with a smile. "What about you, (Y/N)? What are you afraid of?"

" **People.** " You say that without hesitation and shiver, trying to suppress some memories of your past. "People are so scary all the time."

"Wait, really? You’re kidding, right?" You look around to see Gwen giving you a skepticism look with the others. "They’re just people. What could you be so afraid of?"

"What, it’s not obvious to you?" You clench your arm with your hand, feeling your anxiety kicking again. "Everyone has an opinion on everyone and everything. That means everyone has an opinion of me and I don’t know what it is. What are they thinking? Do they think I’m weird? Do they hate me? Do they wish they’ve never met me at all? And what about that little change in their voice or their eyes? Have I done something wrong to upset them? Have I accidentally ruined our whole friendship? Like, I know I’m just being insecure and paranoid, but the world out there is so terrifying with all the hatred and the judgment and… I sometimes wish I could just hide in a closet forever."

You notice that everyone is giving you a worried look, which is making you more uncomfortable.

"(Y/N)." You look beside you to see your blond friend having tears in her eyes. "You really feel that way?"

You force yourself to give a smile and you release your arm. "It’s called social phobia? It’s not always that bad, but I never go at social events like parties and I never EVER go alone in public areas alone. And I also hate it when people want to celebrate my birthday, it’s just a nightmare for me."

Your head suddenly screams at you to get the attention elsewhere and you hug yourself.

"Can you guys like... talk about something else and forget about me? I’m starting to have a social anxiety attack."

They all look elsewhere and you feel Bridgette give you her biggest hug. Trent has the brilliant idea to put his attention on Courtney, which calms you down somehow.

"Alright, Courtney, you’re afraid of something. Spit it out."

"Nope! Nothing!"

"That’s not what she said last night." Duncan smirks and you chuckle to yourself, remembering the little scare you both gave your team in the woods.

"Duncan... Did you ever considered that maybe I was just humoring you and your stupid story?"

"Sure, sure, princess. You were still dying from fear when (Y/N) started her own, though."

"S-shut up!"

* * *

It’s morning time and you’re currently sitting between Bridgette and Sadie, playing around your food without actually eating it. The thought that you might start having a little problem comes to your mind, but you dismiss it when you hear Chris whistle at you all.

"Campers! Your next challenge is a little game I like to call Phobia Factor! Prepare to face your worst fears!"

He ends his phrase with both of his arms in the air, feeling yourself getting scared of what is going to happen. Did they watch you the night before?

"Now, for our first victims... Heather! Meet us all in the theater... it’s Sumo time!"

Suddenly frightened, Heather spit out her drink on Trent (who doesn’t look very pleased with this whole experience) and Gwen playfully smiles at him.

Damn this boy with guitar skills who is getting all your crush’s attention!

"Gwen. You. Me. The beach.... a few tons of sand..." Gwen gaps at the host as her heart pounds harder, feeling yours sink in your stomach. They **were** watching you the other night.

"Wait, they were listening to us?" You notice Lindsay stand up, the girl completely shocked. Gwen sighs and gives her a long look.

"It’s a reality show, Einstein. They’re always listening to us."

"But that’s like eavesdropping!" How does she think a reality show works? Seriously?

"Chef Hatchet! Didn’t you have a special order for Tyler today?"

"He gets to have chicken!?" You get up to see the famous chef giving a fried chicken to the failed gym boy, your brain begging you to steal it from his hands. "I want some too! Give it to me!"

Sadly for you, the young guy has already eaten its head before you can take it from him, an alive chicken getting out of the hole he made with his teeth soon after. His scream makes you forget to ask for one for yourself... or maybe you just can’t understand how the chicken is still alive... Who knows?

* * *

The first one you watch to face their fear is Beth, who said she’s afraid to bathe in a pool of insects. So here you guys are, looking down at the most horrible pool filled with the most disgusting insects in the whole world. As the young girl gets in without a problem, you hear DJ vomiting and see Owen faint. That’s when you see Beth disappearing under the little creatures, getting a point for her team in no time.

It’s going to be hard to do better than her, especially since you can’t stop yourself from imagining what your challenge would be. It’s probably going to involve strangers because you already know everyone in the camp and they don’t really scare you that much anymore... so it’s definitively going to involve strangers. Oh god, please, no! You won’t survive strangers!

As the day goes on, you watch more people face their fears with, feeling no emotions to help you cope with what’s happening. You watch Leshawna run away from Chef wearing a giant spider costume completely numb, just like how you watch Sadie and Lindsay get wigs on their heads. You watch Heather accidentally fight over a giant Sumo. You watch Owen and Izzy get on a broken plane. Even when Bridgette leaves you all to go alone into the woods, you can’t feel anything.

That’s why you decide to leave the group, not wanting to see the rest of your friends getting crushed one by one. You find a tree near the cabins and sit down, trying to calm yourself with the breathing exercises your parents taught you. It works a little, but not that much.

An hour later, you’re still sitting there, hearing someone sit down beside you. You open your eyes to see Harold smiling at you. He then tells you that he had to fight ninjas in the bathroom just now, not succeeding because he hit himself by accident. That manages to make you laugh, which was his whole objective. He saw you getting more scared as the day goes by and, since you’re like a big sister to him, he wanted to make you feel better.

"Thanks, Harold." You give him a sweet smile. "I needed that."

"Anytime, (Y/N). Anytime." He puts his hand on your shoulder. "But you need to come back, our team needs you."

"I quit when I saw Gwen get buried." You tense up when the memory flashes in your head, shaking your head. "Besides, I can’t help you guys."

"You’re kidding?" You give him a weird look, not sure what he’s going to tell you. "Since day one, you’ve always been there to motivate and cheer all of us up. Without you, we would all have given up in all the challenges. And today, we have to fight our fears. We need you more than before."

A strange feeling goes through you, something that seems like determination, but you’re still pretty suspicious about all of this. "Why would I be the one to help you more?"

"Because everything stops to be scary when you’re there. Look at me, you weren’t there when I had to fight those ninjas. Now, imagine Bridgette right now, alone in the woods. The only reason as to why she was fine in the last challenge was because you were there to hold her hand."

You sigh and you let him get you up, dragging you back to the amphitheater.

"Now, it’s almost DJ’s turn. He’s going to need you there."

* * *

"Hey, you can do this, buddy!" Duncan claps at DJ with a bright smile as you watch the big guy look down at the smallest snake you’ve ever seen. After some time pass, he screams and backs out. Again.

"It blinked! The snake blinked!"

"It means she likes you!" It’s weird, but you agree with Sadie.

"It’s the smallest snake ever, DJ! Come on!" Courtney screams more things at DJ, you knowing damn well that it’s not helping him. He just keeps looking at the snake with the most terrified expression you’ve ever seen. You sigh and decide to walk up to him. As the big guy sees you come closer, you send him a nice smile.

"DJ, what are you afraid of exactly? What do you think the snake will do to you?"

"I think it’s going to either bite me or strangle me."

"Okay, listen." You point to the snake. "That snake, in particular, is too small to even go around your whole neck, so it can’t strangle you."

You watch his body release a little pressure.

"Also, that snake is not venomous. So, if it bites you, it will only sting a little. Have you ever got bitten by a cat?" He nods positively at you. "Well, if it bites you, it will hurt less than that. So, you can go ahead, there’s no danger here."

He slowly looks back at the snake, still scared. Then, he approaches his finger to the little creature and closes his eyes… When he opens them again, he sees the adorable snake curled up on his finger and his heart warms up, the big guy smiling down at the little creature. He walks back to your team along with you, all of them cheering for him. You see Courtney smile proudly, her arms crossed on her chest.

"See? Fear is only in the mind!"

* * *

You all watch Trent run pass you and scream, a silent mime following him. Chris simply gets his megaphone out.

"Just talk to him, brah! And ask him to go away!" His smile grows wider when he sees Trent continuing to run away from the mime, the host then looking down at his watch. "Okay, then. We’ve got two minutes before Gwen’s done. Cody, you’re up!"

* * *

"She’s pretty. She’s nice."

"Courtney has valid points, Duncan. She’s also not alive, so she can’t hurt you."

But no matter what you two say, your punk friend doesn’t seem to hear you, the Céline Dion standee completely terrifying him. You look back at Chris, who gives you three the same usual annoying smile.

"Just one hug and you’re done." He snaps his fingers, his smile not moving at all.

"Th-that looks really..." He looks down at you before his eyes go back to the standee. "... real, man."

"Dude, she’s made of cardboard! Get in the game!" You send Tyler your death glare and he seems to get your message.

"Hey, it’s okay if you can’t do it." Courtney’s giving Duncan an empathetic smile and your punk friend goes back to watch the standee. You can tell that he’s not going to do it.

"Hey, Duncan." You put your hand on his shoulder and he looks at you, his eyes completely frightened. "You did scary intense things in your life, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you think of the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done? You don’t have to tell me, just think of it." You can see a proud smirk set on his face. "Now, when you were doing that dangerous thing, were you scared?"

He looks at you again, his smirk getting bigger. "Not at all."

"Well, if you can do that thing without being scared, you can give fake Céline a little hug." His eyes set on the standee again, you and Courtney sharing a look. When he sighs, both of you take one of his hands in yours, giving him encouragement and comfort. He smiles at you two, though it’s still a little on edge.

"Alright, I’ll try."

"You can do this." Courtney gives him a big smile and you do the same.

"Okay, okay..."

Next thing you see is him running down to the standee and giving it the biggest hug in the whole world, getting your team your second point. Everyone erupts in cheers and you all go to him. You and Courtney both hug him without even thinking about it.

"Duncan! You’re awesome!" Courtney suddenly gets away from him and smiles weirdly.

"I did it! I did it!"

You let him go while laughing, the rest of your team praising him for your next win. Your punk friend gives you a bright smile, his eyes still a little crazy from what just happened to him. Chris then says that you’re all free to go, adding that the rest of the teammates' turn will arrive later in the day.

Oh god. Your turn. It’ll be your turn soon.

To calm you down, you decide to go take a walk on the beach, Geoff accompanying you. As you walk by Gwen’s buried spot, you stop in your tracks and let your cowboy friend continue alone, noticing that the time-lapse for her challenge has been done for a while now… And it doesn’t seem like she got out! Why!? It’s been an hour!

You take the walkie-talkie from the ground. "Gwen? It’s (Y/N) here. Are you still in there?"

" ** _Oh my god! Save me!_** "

You immediately get on your knees and start to dig, panic rising in your whole body. "I’m digging you out right now, Gwen! Don’t worry, you’ll be out soon!"

" ** _Please hurry! I think I’m almost running out of air!_** "

That phrase pushes you to your limit, both of your hands delving into the sand and getting it out of the way. You go deeper and deeper and, after a while, your hands finally feel the box. When your eyes finally meet hers, you both breathe out in relief and you open the box to let her out. She instantly hugs you and takes a big breath, crushing you in her arms.

"What happened-" You get interrupted by the sound of an explosion, both of you looking at the trees as Gwen frees you.

You shake your head. That must have been Cody.

"Gwen, why Trent hasn’t dig you out?"

She looks up at you with scared eyes. "I don’t know! One second he was there, telling me stories and then, he was gone!"

"GWEN! You did it!" You turn around to see Trent running over and giving both of you a bright smile, Chris gasping in surprise. You take a few steps back, watching Gwen hit the young man with her walkie-talkie. Chris chuckles and you give him a mean look.

If you haven’t come by, would any of them have come to dig her out?

Little did you know, Gwen’s also asking herself that question.

* * *

"You can do it, Tyler!" Bridgette is trying to cheer the failed gym boy, her hand still in yours to try to calm her down from her failure. You remember when she came out of the woods screaming and running towards you before she hugged you in absolute fear.

"Yeah!" You watch Duncan imitate a chicken. "Unless you’re a chicken!"

But Tyler still hugs himself on the floor, not moving or reacting at all from the challenge he’s supposed to face. You look at Chris, who’s disappointed.

"I’m not sure we’re getting anywhere with this one."

"Tyler, this is the last challenge!" Courtney still thinks screaming at people will help them face their fear. "Quit being such a girl! You have to do this, or we’re going to lose!"

"Actually, if you do the math, you can’t possibly win." Your eyes set on Cody, who’s using a calculate. "The score is seven to three!"

"And you needed to use a calculator to know that, genius?" The boy gasps when he hears your voice.

"Oh, (Y/N)! I forgot that you didn’t get your challenge!"

_Oh fuck._

You give the little guy the most terrified expression and he suddenly gets what he said, putting his hands on his mouth to stop him from saying anything else. You hear Chris snap his fingers and chuckle, Cody mouthing the word “sorry” to you.

"Oh yeah, (Y/N)! I totally forgot about you!" Your terrified look goes straight to the host and everyone gasps, suddenly aware that you haven’t faced anything for the whole day. "Nah, I’m kidding. We’ve been preparing your challenge since last night and it’s finally time."

He points to a little construction room entirely made of wood. No lights are coming out of it and you try to suppress the urge to run away.

"All you got to do..." Chris pushes you to the tiny building. ".... is to go inside this dark room and, when the light comes on, you smile and laugh happily. If you do this, I’ll give your team three more points."

You’re about to say that three isn’t enough for your team to win, but you remember that Courtney hasn’t faced anything either, so you shut your mouth.

"If you scream, cry, have a meltdown or run away, you don’t get anything. Is that clear?"

You don’t even get to answer that you’re already in front of the door, the rest of your teammates screaming encouragements at you. You look behind you and see everyone give you big smiles and thumbs-up, including the Gophers. You put your hand on the door handle, really nervous, then you push it open and get inside.

You see darkness surround you, silence also greeting you in the room. You wait for a few moments, but nothing seems to happen.

"Hum... guys? Is something supposed to hap-" You get blind by the sudden outburst of the lights.

"SURPRISE!" Your body tensed up from hearing lots of voices screaming that word, your eyes opening to reveal a bunch of strangers looking at you with weird smiles. You see a lot of colorful decorations and a fake chocolate cake in the middle of a table. Petrified, you watch the strangers start to sing the birthday song to you, wanting to scream and hide somewhere.

_Oh god, please, no. Not now. Not in front of all these people. Oh god. It’s not even my birthday! What do I do? What do I do? Where do I look? What... Why are they looking at me? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO FOR FUCK SAKE?!_

That’s when you remember Chris’ words before you get in and your force a smile on your lips. Sadly, it’s not one of those fake smiles that looks true. You can feel it and you hate it. You try your best to not cry right there and simply wait for them to finish. When they do, a strange chuckle gets out of your throat.

"Wow... Thanks... guys...? I really... appreciate... this... I don’t even know what to... say...?" You watch them all look around, clearly bored. "It’s just that... it’s not my birthday?"

The people grunt in annoyance and you hear the door open right behind you. You then feel someone pull outside and hug you, noticing after that it’s Bridgette. When you see Chris give you a thumbs up ( also telling everyone that the Killer Bass gets three more points), you finally let yourself go and you cry on your best friend’s shoulder.

"But it doesn’t matter! The score is seven to six, the Gophers still win!" You give Cody your meanest look, feeling yourself wanting to kill him right in the spot.

"Not necessarily, we got one more challenge set up!"

Through your tears, you see Courtney gasps.

"Who? It can’t be me!" She gets worried when she sees the host smile grow bigger. "But I didn’t...."

"You didn’t have too! We’re always watching you and your reactions!"

_Are they talking about... the green jelly?_

"Oh, I knew it!" You all turn around to look at Lindsay. "Didn’t I tell you guys they were eavesdropping?"

"Who cares? The only difference I could do is to make a tied between the teams."

"Let’s make things interesting then!" Chris approaches Courtney. "I’ll give you three more points if you can complete it!"

She doesn’t have a choice now.

* * *

"You’re afraid of jelly?" Courtney turns back to a laughing Duncan.

"Shut up! Only the green kind! It’s like surgary jiggly snot!"

_Well, that’s kind of true._

"You can face your fear and dive straight into this pool of jelly or let your team lose yet another challenge!" Your browned-haired friend sighs at Chris’ comment and walks to the ladder.

"This is insane." She puts her hand on it and prepares herself to climb. "I could seriously die doing this."

While she goes up, you hear Gwen hisses and you look back at her.

"That is just cruel! It’s probably warm by now! Warm, green, jelly, snotty, bouncy-"

" _You’re not gonna make me quit!_ "

You and Duncan share a look, both sensing that the ex-C.I.T. might lose her strength. You give each other a nod and look back at Courtney, starting to cheer for her.

"That’s it, keep climbing!"

"If anyone can do this, it’s you, Courtney!"

She shows you all her terrified features, finally getting up there.

"As you said, it’s okay if you can’t do it! Ow!" Duncan gives you a mean look after you punch him in the arm, sending him back some glares with your eyes.

"Don’t tell her that! Now she’s going to want to give up!"

He rolls his eyes at you. "I’m just trying to be supportive."

"Well, that doesn’t work at all."

Before he can answer you, you all hear her start to cry and you look up.

"I can’t do it! I’m coming down!"

And just like that, the Bass are being sent to their next elimination. Again.

* * *

You pass by the bathroom stall and hear Courtney cry while talking to the camera, which makes you stop walking. Even if you don’t like to eavesdrop, your curious side gets the better of you and you start to listen.

"I’m so embarrassed. How can I be so weak? I deserve to go home!" Your heart squeezes in pain when you hear her say those things. "Urg! Stop it! You’re pathetic! Show some confidence, Courtney!"

You hear her whimper a little until there’s a noise that sounds like she’s slapping herself. You knock on the door, not wanting to let her be so hard on herself.

"Courtney?" You hear her gaps and she opens the door right after, giving you a fake smile. ".... Are you okay?"

"I’m fine!" Her response only makes you more worried. "Don’t worry about me, (Y/N). I’ll be okay."

"… but you’re not okay right now." She loses her smile and bites her bottom lip. "You know I’m here for you, right? Talk t-"

You don’t have time to continue your speech that she’s already in your arms, crying on your shoulder. You embrace her form, stroking her back and whispering soft consolations to her ear. You feel pain for her, trying your best to help her feel better. When you feel her calm down, she stops crying, but she stays there and enjoys your presence around her. You continue to stroke her back, giving her the time to come back to herself.

That’s when she sets you free, giving you a real smile even though her black eyes are puffy and red.

"Thanks, (Y/N)." She breathes in slowly, losing her smile. "I hope they’re not gonna send me home."

You take her head into your hands and you give her your biggest smile, making her blush. "Trust me, Courtney. You’re not the one being sent home. I won’t let them."

You see her eyes light up and her smile come back, wishing you could see her happy like that all the time.

* * *

"There are only two marshmallows left on this plate." Chris looks at Courtney, Bridgette, and Tyler, his usual smile still on his face. Scared, you take Duncan’s hand in yours, the boy looking annoyed by that... but you feel him squeeze your hand back moments later to help you calm down, making you smile a little.

God, you hope that you’re not going to lose one of your closest friends tonight.

"The three of you didn’t complete your challenges today. One of you is going home tonight and cannot return. Ever. The next name I’m gonna call.... is... Bridgette!"

Half of your body tension breaks down when you hear your best friend’s name. At least you’ll still have her by your side for the next three days…. Courtney gives you a look and you send her a thumb up, really hoping that she will stay.

"The last marshmallow of the night goes to... Courtney!"

As Courtney and you scream out of joy and hug each other, both of you happy that she gets to stay, Duncan gives a pat on Tyler’s shoulder.

"You’ll get that chicken next time, dude." The failed gym boy walks towards the dock of shame, Chris and the rest of your teammates taunting him with various bird-related puns on his way out. You laugh at them and let go of Courtney, the brown-haired girl deciding to stop everyone with her stern voice.

You then realized something.

_Oops. I hope Lindsay won’t be too sad about this._

* * *

You open the door of your cabin to step outside and go to the communal bathrooms later that night, a bag full of some of your belongings hanging on your shoulder. Though, you’re surprised to see a fist right in front of your face but not hitting you. You hear someone chuckle and the fist is put down. You see Gwen blush and she apologizes to you. You understand that she was about to knock on the door when you just opened it. You smile at her, closing the door behind you.

"Hey, Gwen. Are you looking for someone?"

Her face gets even redder and you can’t stop yourself from finding her cute. "Yeah... can we go talk somewhere? I need to tell you something."

Your frown and nod, following her into the woods so that you can have some privacy (even though it doesn’t matter since you’re probably getting filmed right now). When Gwen estimates that you’re both far enough from the cabins, she turns around and starts to play with her fingers.

"Okay, okay..." She looks up at you, breathing in before she hugs herself, clearly nervous. "I just need to tell you this. It’s fine."

"Gwen, what’s happening?" You tilt your head and give her a worried look. "Are you o-"

" _I like you!_ "

Your eyes open wide and your heart stops beating, your cheeks burning like hell.

"... wait, what?"

She takes another breath and gives you a look. "I like you, okay?"

A firework comes off in your mind, your whole body freezing in place and making you feel too much excited. You should say something. Do something… but yet, you can’t seem to react at all.

"(Y/N)? Are you still there?" You finally get out of your head, your gut telling you something… something bad.

"... _why?_ "

"Huh?"

"Why do you like me? I mean, I like you too. A whole freaking lot and I’m pretty sure it was obvious. But why do **you** like me?"

She seems taken aback by your question and doesn’t know how to respond.

"Well, hum... You’re very kind and funny. Also, you always seem to know what to say and what to do and you’re always there for me. And you’re pretty cute all the time and..."

She continues to give you a list of great qualities about you, seeming shy… but something’s off. That’s when you understand and you give her a sad smile.

"You don’t like me, Gwen."

She gives you a shocked expression, her mouth hanging open. "What? No! I like you! What makes you say that?"

You chuckle sadly and shake your head, your smile getting even more bitter. "What you just said... all those nice things about me? It’s a good list of reasons why you should like me… but you never said a single thing about how you feel."

Her eyes seem to understand what you say, stopping herself to try to tell you otherwise. "Oh god, you’re right. I’m so sorry."

You take her hands in yours. "I’ll be fine. You’re not my first crush ever."

She looks up back at you, clearly embarrassed while your eyes get tears in them.

"I’m kind of glad that we sort this up. That way we can learn how to be friends." She gives you an unhappy smile, squeezing your hands in hers to try to comfort you.

"I’m sorry." You laugh.

"Why am I feeling like I’m the one who confessed?" She chuckles with you and you put your bag back up on your shoulder. You both stay silent for a while, not knowing what to say.

"… Goodnight, Gwen."

"Goodnight, (Y/N)."

And even though your heart is in pain, you feel like this is for the better.


	9. TDI: Up The Creek

**Chapter Eight: Up The Creek**

It’s been three days since your conversation with Gwen and, right now, you’re sound asleep in your bed, still not noticing the war about earning your love nor knowing that Bridgette Is secretly helping one of the parts. Before she goes outside, the blond gives your sleeping form a last look of compassion, remembering what you told her the night before. She can’t believe how well you took the “rejection”. You’re so much stronger than she thought!

The blond spots Courtney by the stairs, waiting for their usual morning chat about winning your heart. When Bridgette walks closer to her, she simply gives the brown-haired girl a weak smile, not liking the fact that she’s doing this behind your back… but even if it seems evil, advising the C.I.T. seems better than seeing you get with Duncan.

Bridgette is going to do her best to protect you from anything, even potential bad boyfriends.

"So?" Courtney stops Bridgette from thinking too much, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anything new for today?"

" _It’s time._ " The ex-C.I.T. seems taken aback by the blond response. "(Y/N) and Gwen talked three days ago."

Courtney suddenly understands and nods, waiting for more information.

"Her crush is over and she’s vulnerable right now. You need to make your move."

"Finally. " A huge smile gets on the girl features. "You have any advice to how I could proc-"

" **You should watch out for me.** "

Both of the girls jump out of their skin and look up to see Duncan, the boy having an evil glare. He’s currently up on the stairs, leaning down with a dark smirk.

" **I knew her best friend was giving tips to the princess. Thanks to you, now I know it’s time for me to step in.** "

" _Back off, Duncan! I told you, she’s mine!_ " Bridgette has to stop Courtney from attacking the punk by grabbing her arms, panicking herself a little inside. Duncan chuckles and tilts his head, amused by the whole situation.

" **She’s not your girlfriend, darling.** " He then gives them a wink. " **But she’ll be mine soon.** "

" _Don’t you dare put your hands on h-_ "

You stop the whole conversation when you open the door of the cabin, all of them freezing and looking back at you in pure silence. You also freeze when you see them there and just staring at you, them not know what to do. Did you hear anything?

"Is... everything... okay?"

They don’t have time to answer you that Chris tells everyone to come over to the beach.

The next challenge is about to start. 

* * *

You’re all standing in front of Chris, you stuck between Bridgette and Duncan. Your best friend’s holding your hand and trying to drag you away from the boy, which is... weird 

Not gonna lie, but as the days go by, you’re finding Bridgette’s behavior more strange. It’s like she doesn’t like to see you revolving around your punk friend… but at the same time, she gets excessively excited whenever you’re close to Courtney…

You might be unto something.

"Bass, Gophers." You look back at Chris, who’s standing beside a cardboard with a map of an island on it. "Today’s challenge is a true summer camp experience... a canoe trip. You’ll be paddling your canoes across the lake to... _Boney... Island!_ "

While Chris finishes his sentence with a spooky voice, everyone starts to look at the canoes on the beach. You feel your heart beat faster and cold blood run into your veins. You’ve haven’t been in the water since the first, still afraid to die, and you don’t want to go on a canoe.

Is this going to be your final day on earth?

"When you get there, you must portage your canoes to the other side of the island, which is about a two hours hike through treacherous dense jungle."

"We’ve got to pour what?" Your whole team gives Geoff a disappointed.

"Portage." The repeated word doesn’t seem to turn on a light in the cowboy’s head, which annoys Chris more than it should. "Dude, walk with your canoe."

Geoff’s mouth hangs down. "Oh."

"When you arrive at the end of the island, you’ll build a rescue fire that will be judged by me. The first team to paddle home and return their canoes to the beach is the winner of invincibility."

"Then why do we have to build a fire and get judge?" Your question wins you an approbation from the others and a death glare from the host. "What? It’s a serious question!"

"Move, campers, move!" Chris completely ignores you and you all start to run to the canoes. "Oh wait! One more thing I should mention."

You all stop and look back at him.

"Legend has it if you take anything off the island... _you’ll.... be.... cursed... forever...!_ "

As he finishes yet again with a spooky voice, thunder can be heard in the sky right above you. You roll your eyes. All you have to do is to not take anything, that’s easy.

"Now, get your canoes and let’s have some fun!"

You watch each Gopher find their partners and get on the canoes, a dreadful feeling washing over you. You don’t want to do this challenge, but you don’t have a choice. That’s when you feel an arm around your shoulders and, this time, you don’t even have to look beside you to know that it’s Duncan.

... you do it anyway and notice him giving you a sly smile.

" _Still afraid of the water, sugar lips?_ "

That new nickname makes you feel like the butterflies are eating your insides, your whole face getting red again. Embarrassed, you look aside, which only makes him chuckle at you.

"I take that as a yes." You look back at him.

"P-pretty sure I’m gonna die out there."

"Not if I’m with you." It feels like a nuclear bomb has been set off in your brain when you see his smirk grow bigger. "Wanna be my partner in crime, sweetheart?"

"Depends." You smirk back, following an urge. "In which context are you asking me, handsome?"

A strange glint appears in his eyes and he approaches his face, your breathing getting caught in your throat. His lips stop inches away from yours, his eyes looking right into your (E/C) ones. You watch him open his mouth, the boy about to tell you something...

… then you feel someone grab you and pull you away from him.

"Oh my god, (Y/N)! Come with me, I need to tell you something!"

Your eyes almost pop out of your head when you see your best friend, totally shocked from what she’s just done. You look back at Duncan, who gives you two a very annoyed look before he goes with Harold and Sadie, probably wanting to torment them for the whole challenge. You feel rage rise in you, glaring at Bridgette’s head. You take back your arm from her and she turns at you in surprise.

"What the _fuck_ , Bridgette?" She gives you a shocked expression. "Every time I’m talking to Duncan, you find a way to ruin the moment and drag me away! Seriously, what is wrong with you?”

She starts to be nervous, clearly avoiding your deathly stare. "I don’t know what you’re talking about! I just wanted to tell you something!"

" _Oh,_ _ **really**_ _?_ " She seems to retract on herself when she hears your tone. "Would it have a connection with Courtney by any chance? Because you’re always trying to push me over to her every time I get close to Duncan."

She looks around her, not wanting to have this conversation with you.

"...Don’t you like her?" You’re taken aback by her response.

"Well, yeah.... but I like him too and you know that! I clearly had a chance back there! Now, why would you ruin that!"

" _Because he’s not good for you!_ " Your mouth opens wide, not expecting her to tell you this. "He’s going to break you one day, I can just feel it!"

" _ **You don’t even know him!**_ " Your voice is dark and venomous, but your blond friend can see you shake, tears appearing in your eyes. "How _dare_ you decide who I can date or not? It’s my choice!"

"I know that, and I’m sorry! But you don’t know how much trouble that guy is!"

"And **you** know?" She doesn’t have a response to that and, after a couple of seconds of silence, you understand something. "Have... have you told Courtney my secrets?"

"NO!" You step back when she tries to put her hands on your shoulders. "No, of course not! I’ve just helped her a little, that’s all!"

When she sees that you’re not believing her, tears appear in her eyes as well.

"(Y/N), you’re the greatest friend I ever had! I would never do that to you!"

"Then why wouldn’t you let me choose who I want?"

"I just... I just want to protect you!" She sighs sadly and you both wish this fight could be over. "Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done those things and... you have the right to be with whoever you want. I guess I should have just been there for you... Not try to be god and arrange your love life or something."

You sadly laugh a little, your body trying to release the tension it has. "It’s gonna take a while for me to completely trust you again but... "

She gives you a hopeful look and you smile back.

"I forgive you, you big idiot."

She gives you a bright smile as she dries away her tears. "I’m still your best friend?"

"Yeah, you still are. If you promise to not stop me from seeing Duncan and to not rearrange my love life behind my back." She sends you an evil grin.

"I can promise that." You frown.

"What are you thinking right n-"

" _Hey, Courtney! Wanna be partners with us?_ "

Seeing your brown-haired friend coming down the stairs to join you to the beach, you punch your best friend in the arm. She only chuckles and gives you the "This is not behind your back" kind of speech.

_Yeah, right._

Wait.

She said she was helping Courtney a little.

What did she mean by that? 

* * *

You’re sitting in the middle of the canoe with a paddle in your hand, Bridgette sitting in the front while Courtney’s sitting behind you. You feel despair run into your body, the deadly water staring back at you like it’s going to take your arm, put you down in the abyss and force you to drown again.

" _(Y/N), you’ll be fine_." You look back at Courtney and stare at her. She just seems to glow, the sun reflecting on her hair and her freckles popping out more than before. Her perfect smile stretches out as she takes your hand in hers, feeling your heart twist.

She’s beautiful.

"You won’t die on my watch, I promise."

You give her a sweet smile and she squeezes your hand, yourself melting under her dark black eyes. It’s like she’s looking right into your soul, making you feel quite embarrassed and vulnerable.

That’s when Chris starts to talk again from the beach, a gun in his hand.

"On your marks! Get set!"

Wait, he has a gun? Wha-

"Paddle!" You hear a gunshot behind you and, while you’re the only one being scared of Chris having a gun, you all start to paddle.

* * *

"Oh my god, guys. It was so bad!" The two of you watch Bridgette start the story of when she found Geoff’s gift this same morning, having a horrifying look on her face. "I come back from brushing my teeth and I noticed something bolting under my covers. When I lifted it, there it was!"

You hear Courtney gasps. "No!"

"Yes!"

"Why are you guys so horrified about this? He made her a gift, that’s pretty sweet."

They both look at you like you just grow out a second head on your neck.

"But (Y/N), it gets worse. Unto the back was an inscription that said: "I hope you think of me whenever you drop loose change into this." Bleh!" Your best friend proceeds to mimic strangling herself as Courtney slaps her forehead.

"Okay, that’s a bit weird, but it’s still sweet of him."

"(Y/N), why aren’t you feeling more.... weirded out? This was a horrible gift!"

You quirk an eyebrow. "From your point of you, yes. But what about his?"

Both of them share a look, not seeing what you’re getting on. Bridgette pressures you to get on with your idea. They both listen to you in silence, wondering if you’re going to be right or not.

"Well, just imagine how much time and effort he put into this gift. Like… this heart-shaped frame. I doubt he just found it somewhere, so he must have made it himself. That alone takes a lot of time. The glued macaronies are a little weird, yeah, but it’s not like he had anything else around to decorate that frame and he wanted to make it more special! And that inscription, well… he tried to be original and grave down something he thought that was sweet, even if he was wrong about it. And he didn’t have a picture of you two, but he still managed to construct something with two different photos so that you could be together in that frame!"

Courtney doesn’t seem to be won over by your arguments, but Bridgette is starting to feel guilty, which pushes you to make your conclusion.

"So, yeah... It’s not a great gift at first sight, but when you think about all the trouble he went into to make it, you notice how much he cares for you and that’s the sweetest thing in the world for me."

"I... didn’t think of that." A small smile appears on her lips and she looks back at Geoff upfront, busy talking to a disappointed DJ.

"Hey, was that smoke there earlier?" Courtney cuts your conversation short when you see mist all around you. Listening to your gut, you look up only to see Boney Island coming closer. You smile when you see the big rocks form the shape of a giant skull, all your canoes finally arriving on the beach. The island looks like it’s getting right out of a horror movie.

_Nice._

"Okay, did you see that skull?" You hear the excitement from Izzy as she gets off the canoe, putting both of her arms in the air. "How cool is that? This place is haunted or something!"

"I know, right?" You get off your canoe to go talk to her, clearly too excited for something like this. "Maybe we’ll find some killers or vicious creatures here!"

"Oh my god, that would be so cool!"

"Let’s just get this over with." Gwen kills your vibe off as she starts to run in the forest with Cody, their canoe up in their hands. Annoyed, you decide to go help you’re two friends with your canoe, running off in the forest too.

* * *

You’re all running like you’re being chased by something, your whole chest begging you to let it breathe properly. The Gophers suddenly take the lead and you notice a bunch of animal skulls put on spikes around… but you don’t have time to ask questions about it, a big tree falling in front of everyone and stopping you in your tracks 

"I think I hear something." Cody whispers that sentence with a sense of worry, all of you looking at the bushes, a bunch of mean creatures getting out of them. "Monster Beavers!"

You don’t even have time to process what’s happening that all the Gophers start to scream and run away, the beavers chasing after them. Your team and you watch them disappear on the horizon, not knowing what to do.

"Now what?"

Courtney’s about to answer you when the Gophers come back, this time a bunch of giant birds with pointy teeth chasing them. While they’re all throwing some bread that Cody got out of his pants, your team takes their chance and you start to run to the other side of the island, taking the lead.

* * *

You all stop in front of two possible paths, Geoff and DJ looking back at all of you. The bigger guy opens his mouth.

"Which way are we gonna go?"

"Left." You feel the canoe fall a little while Courtney responds to the big guy, you and Bridgette looking back at her to see her smile. "Definitely left."

"I don’t know, I think we should take the one on the right." Geoff looks at the paths with worry.

"We could have just walk around the island by the beach." Your whole team gaps at you. "There’s no evil creatures and no chance of getting lost. Plus, Chris never said that we have to go **through** the forest."

"Why didn’t you say that before!?"

"I don’t know. I just thought of that now. I can’t control my brain."

"Well, anyway, the right trail is wider." Bridgette cuts off the little argument between you and Courtney, Geoff giving her sweet eyes. "What are you looking at?"

He only gives her a nervous smile before DJ and himself start to walk over to the right path. Your best friend sighs, tired of all of this, and you all follow suit.

* * *

"Why are we walking now? Shouldn’t we continue to run and get on the other side faster?"

"Great idea, (Y/N)." You smile at your brown-haired friend. "Maybe we should run a-"

She stops her sentence when Geoff screams, falling on the ground in an instant. He gets his head up, hissing in pain while looking at one of his legs with a panic look.

"Ow! My leg! I’m down! I’m down!" He proceeds to fall again, screaming in pain. "Oh, it’s so unfair! Why does this have to happen now? Why? **Why!** "

_Did he hurt himself for real or is this an excuse to not run?_

You all put down your canoes and get closer to your cowboy friend, Bridgette getting more worried about him. She takes a closer look at his leg, not sure what to do next. He takes her wrist in his hands, tears in his eyes.

"You’ve gotta go on without me!"

You watch Courtney shrug and continue to walk like nothing happen, finding the scene kind of hilarious yourself. But then, DJ stops her by taking her arm, a serious look on his face.

"We’re not leaving any man behind! Not on my watch!"

You sigh, watching them put Geoff on top of one of the canoes before you walk again.

* * *

Like you expect, the Gophers are already there when you arrive at the site. They’re also already trying to make a fire, some of them waving at you with smirks on their face. Luckily, you’re the first one in your team to find some wood, putting it down to let Courtney starts to work on your fire.

"How are we going to make this big fire? I doubt we’ll make one quicker than the other team." You don’t know what has gotten to you that day, but you’re not the motivated person you used to be.

"Don’t be so sure about that, sweetheart." You watch Duncan get a lighter out of his pocket, making an instant fire for your whole team. You smile, hope coming back into your spirit. You hear Heather asking how you made the fire so quickly, your punk friend showing her the lighter and giving her a victorious smile. You chuckle darkly and give him a high five, then you go back to find some more wood. That big fire won’t create itself alone.

When you come back later with a huge sack of wood, along with other members of your team, you notice Geoff carrying two or three branches and trying to go to the campfire by crawling on the sand. You wait for him to finally arrive after putting down your discoveries, the guy throwing in the branches he found.

"Bridgette, you got first-aid training, right? Maybe you can check out Geoff’s wound." You look beside you to see DJ talking to your best friend, feeling yourself smirk at what he’s trying to do. "He might have gangrene."

"Or jungle rot!" Geoff starts to panic even more.

"Or an athlete’s foot!"

You decide to add your salt by whispering something into her ear. "Or he might have a fungal infection."

That seems to push her to her limit since she goes straight to him, you and DJ sharing a proud look. When Bridgette puts her hands on Geoff’s leg, the boy gives you two the happiest smile you’ve ever seen. DJ sends him back a wink and you give him a thumbs up.

"I don’t think this is going to be big enough." You look back at Courtney giving you all a skeptic look.

"You heard the woman. We need more wood, guys. Come on! Let’s go!"

You’re about to follow your teammates when you see Harold run to the canoes, take the paddles, then come back to put them in the fire.

It takes you all your strength to not scream right now.

"How are we supposed to get home, now!?" Your best friend shouts at him, clearly angry as you nod to agree with her and cross your arms on your chest. Harold messed up big time and you’re not going to forgive him for that mistake.

That’s when a big explosion occurs right next to your campfire and you noticed that the Gopher’s fire is bigger than a building devoured by the flames… which is scaring the crap out of you.

"We have our fire building winner!" You look up at the sky to see Chris in a helicopter, not knowing why you haven’t heard him before. "Point for the Gophers!"

_Well, fuck._

* * *

"What are we gonna do without paddles?" Your best friend looks at everyone in general, all of them looking elsewhere to avoid her death stare. Except for you. When her eyes meet yours, you simply give her a bright smile.

"Die in a gruesome death?"

The intense gap between what you just said and the expression on your face makes her crack a small smile. Izzy and Leshawna then pass in front of you, paddling in their canoe.

"You guys could get someone to swim behind the boats and push them." Izzy stops paddling and looks back at all of you. "I did that once for this huge sixty-foot yacht. The whole crew had to floater kick eight days to get to shore. And like, four of us got eaten by sharks?"

She then laughs and moves her head side to side.

"I didn’t. Not me. But it was really insane! Okay, later!" Leshawna continues to paddle with a pissed off face, making Izzy lose control of her balance and fall into the canoe.

"Thanks, Izzy!" You see her put a thumbs up from where she’s lying down.

"That might work!" You hear Geoff being happy about this, noticing that he’s standing on his feet… Huh. You thought his leg was hurting too much?

"We need someone big enough to push all the canoes back." Your best friend looks around with an intense thinking look, setting her eyes on DJ. "DJ! You’re the only one who’s strong enough!"

"You can’t ask him to do that! The dude can’t swim!"

"Uh, yes… he can, Geoff. He’s just afraid of the water. _**I**_ can’t swim."

"(Y/N) has a point. And Geoff, I know you are friends, but he’s the only chance we’ve got!" Bridgette finishes her statement while taking Geoff’s shoulders in her hands, a panic look on her face.

"She’s right." You look back at Courtney, the girl taking Harold’s arm in her hand. "Those skinny arms aren’t going to cut it."

"I’ll do it!" You give Geoff a more suspicious look as Bridgette gaps.

"You can’t swim with that kind of injury! You’re horribly disfigured!"

"Oh my god. Seriously? It’s just a sprinkle in his leg, for fuck sake!"

DJ puts his hand on your shoulder, giving you all a deep intense look.

"I can do this. I have to."

You sigh in relief, Geoff giving his friend a big hug. Now you won’t have to risk dying again.

* * *

…

_Ow._

Izzy’s plan worked out, but what you weren’t expecting was for DJ to go too far and make all of you go up in the sky and fall back at the camp with all the canoes. Luckily for you, in particular, you fell on Duncan, which was more comfortable than the ground.

"Oh my god, Duncan! Are you okay?" When he hears the worry in your voice, he opens his eyes and gives you a sly smile… even though he’s still in pain.

"Worried about me, sugar?"

You roll your eyes at him and get off him, making him chuckle. He gets his upper body upright after, getting his face close to you.

" _If it’s the case, maybe you would like to take care of me_."

Chris cuts you off before you even get the chance to answer, declaring the Bass team winner. You and your teammates can’t help but cheer in joy, you being unaware of the glare Courtney’s sending you and Duncan.

* * *

You’re sitting on your bed that night, reading one of your favorite novels of all time. Sadie’s doing personal stuff somewhere outside while Bridgette’s preparing her bed, Courtney’s reapplying her lipstick in the corner. That’s when something shatters and you look up to see Geoff’s gift broken on the floor, a kneeling Bridgette staring down at it.

"Someone has any glue?" The blond looks at you with anticipation, but you shake your head.

"Nope, sorry friend." She looks disappointed, Courtney rolling her eyes and turning around to face her.

"I wouldn’t waste my time trying to fix _that._ "

"Maybe I would."

"I wouldn’t."

"(Y/N)! You said that it was a sweet gift!"

"Yeah, but I’m lazy and there’s like... a million pieces."

Your friend gives you a mean look and Courtney chuckles, the girl getting back to applying her lipstick. You watch your friend pick up the pieces with an angry puff, which makes you sigh.

"If you want to fix it, maybe you can check the lodge. There might be glue over there."

She gets up from the ground in pure silence, thinking about what you just said. Then, she looks between you and Courtney, ending it all by giving you an evil grin. Your eyes open wide, understanding what she’s going to do.

"Yeaaaah… you’re right. I’m gonna go check now!"

"Y-you sure? It’s dark outside."

"I’m sure. I am _so_ sure." She walks over to the door with the broken pieces in one of her hand, opening the entrance with the other. "Hope you two don’t get too bored without me!"

She closes the door behind her, leaving you alone with a gorgeous Courtney in the same room with you. You ignore the slightly faster beating of your heart and go back to your book, trying your best to submerge yourself back into it.

Courtney watches you through the mirror, putting down her lipstick as she bites her bottom lip. She remembers the moment she saw between you and Duncan earlier… when all of you guys won the challenge. Has he already got his hands on you?

"So..." You jump out a little when you hear her voice, and you look up at to see her stare you through the mirror, a strange vibe coming off of her. "Are you and Duncan a thing now?"

"What?" She turns around from the mirror and crosses her arms on her chest, quirking an eyebrow at your shocked expression. "No! We’re just friends."

"So... you don’t like him?"

"I... didn’t say that..."

"So, you _do_ like him."

You feel too embarrassed and confused to answer her properly, so you decide to stay silent. Jealousy hits her like a truck in her face, the girl trying her best to suppress it.

"Do you also… like someone else?"

You give her a little look before looking elsewhere, your cheek getting red a little.

"...maybe...?"

She grins. "That means yes."

You give her a panic look while she gets off the wall and starts to walk over to you.

"Who is it?"

"I’m not telling you!"

"Awn, come on! You can tell me!"

She’s suddenly up close into your space and approaches her face to yours, both of her hands resting on your bed on each side of you. Her grin stretches out when she sees your blush get darker from her proximity.

"So…. who else do you like?" You turn your face away, the tension making you feel like you can’t control anything. That’s when you remember your fight with Bridgette this morning and you gather up your courage to talk to her about it.

"... can I ask you a question?" She gives you a surprised look but nods to tell you to go on.

"This morning, Bridgette told me that she helped you a little." You look down at your lap, not wanting to see her expression. "What did she mean by that?"

" _What do you think she meant?_ "

You slowly look up to see her face inches away from you, the heat burning your whole face now. Your heartbeat gets faster than before, feeling yourself drowning into her black eyes. You breathe in sharply, your body getting tensed. You open your mouth to answer her question.

"I… I don’t know-"

You get cut off by her lips roughly grabbing yours, tasting her strawberry lipstick. You freeze by how sweet and brutal her kiss is, letting go and melting after a few seconds. Feeling the heat of the moment, your arms around her neck, one of your hand taking a hold of her hair while her arms wrapped themselves around your body. You feel the kiss gets deeper, your brain shutting down.

This is so amazing, you wish this moment never ends. But, sadly, you both part away to be able to breathe again. You inhale air and try to control your heartbeat, feeling both your foreheads and noses touch while you do that. She gives you little kisses between each breath, making you giggle. You feel so happy right now, you could almost cry. You open your eyes to look at hers, smiling.

"Is this why you put on lipstick earlier?"

She laughs at your question and shakes her head, disapproving your theory. You chuckle again and give her a peck on the lips.

"Kinda sad that I ruined it, then."

"I don’t care. That was amazing." You give her a slight smirk.

"Does that mean you’re my girlfriend, now?"

" **I thought you would never ask.** "

She traps you in another deep kiss and you moan, feeling like you want more. But then, the door of the cabin opens and you both stop the kiss, looking back to see a shocked Sadie and Bridgette. You see the lonely fake twin open her mouth and come inside the cabin, your best friend closing the door behind her with a big smile.

" _Oh. My. God..._ Bridgette! (Y/N) and Courtney were just kissing!" You get flustered again and you hide your face into your new-found girlfriend shoulder, the brown-haired girl rolling her eyes at Sadie’s reaction.

"Oh, I knew it!" You hear Bridgette squeezes in excitement and you look back at them to see her jump up and down. "Are you guys together, now?"

Courtney grunts in annoyance as you give your best friend a shy smile, making her squeeze even more. Soon, Sadie joins her in her cheering, feeling excited about this new relationship. Courtney groans more and you laugh, kissing her on the cheek and making _her_ blush this time.

"We’re in for a long ride with these two."

"Oh, I noticed. But you’re mine now… so I’ll survive."

You never thought hearing those words could make you feel happier.


	10. TDI: Paintball Deer

**Chapter Nine: Paintball Deer**

The sound of Chris’ helicopter wakes you up, some girls grunting in annoyance at the host. You just keep your eyes closed and enjoy the small moment you have in girlfriend’s arms, hiding your face in her neck.

It’s been a week since the last challenge and your relationship with Courtney hasn’t gone unnoticed by the others... probably because she was all over you: taking your hand, telling you sweet things, kissing you in public… so you didn’t have the time to be nervous about telling anyone, but even if you would have been scared, it wouldn’t have been justified, because everyone didn’t care when they learn the news.

Everyone except for Duncan.

The boy has been very cold towards you since last week, always sending you and Courtney deathly glare and groaning in annoyance every time someone talks to him. He has also been starting random fights with Courtney all the time, taking all the chances he can get to make angry. Needless to say, your girlfriend has been _extremely_ protective over you, feeling sometimes like she might be… too much.

As for Bridgette, she keeps asking you questions whenever you’re not with Courtney, also just liking to spend time with you in general... ‘cause, let’s get real, your girlfriend is taking a _lot_ of your time and is **not happy** when you don’t want to stay with her.

Yeah, she might be a tiny little bit possessive.

All of this brings us back to this morning, with you waking up into Courtney’s arms. A few minutes pass where you hear Sadie and Bridgette get out of the cabin, feeling your girlfriend kiss your forehead right after. Her lips linger there as you smile and you flutter your eyes open. She gets back to see your face and sends you a bright smile through her freckles, making your heart melt once more. You blush, managing to open your mouth to talk.

"Good morning."

"’ morning, sweetie." She kisses you on the lips, squeezing you a little before she gets out of your embrace. You grunt and stretch out your arms to try to grab her, not wanting to let her go. She laughs at you.

"I need to go to the bathroom real quick, wanna go grab breakfast for us?"

You sigh. "Sure."

"You’re the best."

She pecks your lips and jumps down at the floor, happiness bouncing off her. You smile, watching her disappear behind the door. You wait a moment before you decide to leave the bed, taking your chance of being alone to change and get out. You stop walking when you see Duncan standing between the cabin’s doors, his back on the wall and his eyes set on the sky.

"Hey, Duncan!" You smile at him as you see him look at you from the corner of his eyes, a mean glare appearing in them. He goes back to watch the sky and completely ignores you. A violent emotion grabs your chest.

You are _so_ done with his fucking attitude.

"Okay, what the _fuck_ is your problem right now?"

You cross your arms on your chest, trying to suppress the killer vibes as much as you can. He looks back at you in silence, still not saying anything.

"Seriously, Duncan. You’ve been a huge asshole for the last week and I’m getting tired of your bullshit." You squint your eyes at him. "What? You’re gonna tell me that you’re acting like this because I’m with Courtney?"

" **Oh, so you do have a brain.** " His voice is full of venom, almost like he’s spitting those words out. "Never thought you’d fall for the pretentious princess, sweetheart."

"And I never thought you’d act like you’re six years old, but here we are." He only rolls his eyes at you and you feel your nails dig inside your palms. "I’m Courtney’s girlfriend. Grow up and get over it."

You turn your back at him and step down the stairs, counting fast in your head to try to calm you down. You decide to head over the lodge, stopping when you hear him talk again.

" **I won’t.** "

You turn back at him and quirk an eyebrow in annoyance.

" _Excuse me?_ "

"I said that I won’t get over it." He puts his hands in his pockets and walks down the stairs to be in front of you, finally giving you a smirk. "I won’t need to anyway."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You won’t be with her for long." You feel yourself freeze when he grabs your cheek in his hand, his face getting closer to yours. " **I’ll make sure of it.** "

Your face turns into a new color of red when he’s about to kiss you, but you slap his hand away and step back from him, your whole body shaking.

"Don’t... _do_ that."

His smirk gets wider. "I knew it. You still like me, huh?"

"Don’t you dare try anyth-."

"Oh, I’ll try **everything** , honey." He puts his hands back in his pockets. "I’m the one you should be with in the first place."

"Ugh! _I hate you!_ " You turn around again, walking fast to get to the lodge.

" _We both know you don’t!_ " You grunt in annoyance, the boy screaming those words almost in victory behind you. He’s lucky Courtney wasn’t there, or he would have been dead where he stood.

" _I hope you’re ready for the most challenging challenge yet! Breakfast in three minutes at the campfire pit!_ " You look up at the sky, Chris’ voice annoying you.

"Couldn’t have said that _before_ I got to the lodge..."

You turn back again, going to the campfire pit this time.

* * *

You’re standing up behind a sitting Courtney, your hands resting on her shoulders. Bored, you look around to see Leshawna and Owen not standing so far away from you… It’s been a while since you talked to the brown girl. You hope you still got a chance to be her friend one day.

"Are you ready for today’s extreme max impact challenge!" Chris puts both of his fists in the air as he talks with a strange voice. You stop yourself from telling him some remark. You’ll let him have his day for now.

"We are ready!" You look beside you to see a chuckling Owen.

" _Incoming!_ " Chris throws some food can at Gwen’s face, Trent stopping it with his hand before it can hurt her. The host then continues to throw cans at everyone.

"This... is breakfast." You look down at your hands to see that it’s a can of beans, having the urge to throw up.

" **No!** Breakfast is crepes, croissant, even Chef’s yachy burned eggs!" You can’t help yourself but agree with Heather.

"Beans! Beans! They’re good for your heart! The more you eat, the more you-"

Owen’s song is cut off by someone throwing a can at his head, making him fall right on the ground right in front of you. You look at him, then at your own can, then back at him.

"Hey, Owen."

He looks up at you with a bright face, almost making you laugh. You drop your can at him, his eyes sparking up as he starts to dig in. You put your attention back at the host in the front.

"Today’s challenge is about survival..."

" **Again?** "

"Let me finish, (Y/N)!" Guess you won’t let him have his day. "Um-um… Like I said, today’s challenge is about survival... because we’re going hunting!"

_Oh. That kind of survival._

"That’s more like it." Duncan looks at you with a smirk. "Maybe I’ll get to hunt someone in particular."

"I told you to not talk to her!" You have to stop Courtney from jumping on him, visible rage coming off her. You tell her a couple of times that you love her, the girl finally settling down.

"Isn’t that a paintball gun?"

"Why, yes, Harold." Chris points his gun at your little brother by heart. " _It is._ "

You all watch the host shoot the teenager in his chest, making him fall immediately. Your best friend walks towards Chris, looking quite happy.

"So... we won’t be killing anything?"

"Negatory. This is the first-ever paintball deer hunt! I’ll announce the teams once we get into the woods! So... finish breaky!"

You all look back at Owen, who’s been eating all the cans of beans. You smile at the sight, the boy looking so happy at the moment… but you lose it when you remember that you haven’t eaten anything since you’ve been here.

Are you starting to have a problem?

* * *

You’re in the middle of your team, all of you forming a little group to Chris’ right. The host is simply standing in front of a small wall, four red paintball guns and four green ones hung up on it.

"And now for the team breakdowns! The Killer Bass hunters are..." You watch Chris take the green ones and starting to throw them at you. "Harold, Geoff, Bridgette and (Y/N)! Lock and loaded with bass blue paint!"

You get a strange evil feeling when you feel the gun in your hands, starting to smile like a crazy person.

"And using orange paint are the Gopher hunters! Leshawna, Beth, Owen, Lindsay!"

"Wahoo!" The biggest guy of the Gophers team screams with his fist in the air, a gun in the other. "This is awesome, man!"

"You also get these styling glasses and wicked camo caps! The rest of you... are now deer." Everyone looks back at Chris in silence, your girlfriend reluctantly accepting her role in this challenge.

"Why am I a deer? Now I can’t spend the day with you…" You smile sweetly at her, kissing her cheek.

"Don’t worry, it’ll probably only last an hour or two." She sighs, still not liking to be separate from you.

"Here are your antlers, your noses and... " Chris turns around to show what’s on his back, chuckling. ".... little whitetails!"

"Yeah, right. I’m not wearing that." The fact that Heather is going to be a deer makes the strange feeling in your chest grow stronger... You suddenly think that you might look a lot like Chris at the moment, but... oh well. You can’t control that.

"There’s no way that I’m a dear!" You turn around to see Duncan being mad about the deer costume he’ll have to wear.

"Take these off and your team is toast!" You stop yourself from laughing like a maniac when you see Chris put the costume on your punk friend. He looks so cute!

Chris then tells the deers to get into the forest with a head start. You can’t stop yourself from chuckling like a villain, scaring your hunters’ teammates a little.

"(Y/N), you have the crazy eyes." You calm yourself a little when you see Harold’s scared face, the feeling not going away. You give him a small smile and walk into the circle your three friends have formed.

"Sorry, guys. I’m just excited."

You put your hands down with them, all of you putting your hands up as Harold scream something to motivate you all. The boys put on their glasses on along with you, but Bridgette lowers her gun, looking quite sad.

"Okay." Harold gives your best friend a weird look. "You do realize this is all just pretend, right...? And that it’s just paint...? So, say if you... like... hit Heather."

"Wait, Heather’s a deer?" Your blond friend looks up at all of you with a smirk and a determination look, also chuckling while putting on her glasses.

"You guys stay together and try to hit Heather. I’m gonna go hunt the others in solo style." You’re not trusting yourself around your friends with that weird feeling you got. You are pretty sure you’re going to act like a psycho and scar them for life.

"Suit yourself." You watch them disappear in the forest and, as soon as you’re alone, the most insane laugh gets out of your mouth.

" _Game on!_ " Chris’ voice makes you look back at the trees, preparing your gun with a shadow on your crazy face.

" **Let’s go kill some deers.** "

* * *

You decided to hunt the people from up in the trees instead of walking on the ground, jumping from tree to tree like a killing oversized monkey. That technique is working, because it’s while you’re jumping almost in complete silence that you hear Trent and Gwen talking.

_Oh, they’re so dead now._

You look down to watch them walk, both of them not knowing what to do at the moment. You hear Trent say something that they should hide, aiming your gun at his chest. The adrenaline rush into your veins and you shoot him three times in a row, covering him in blue. Gwen screams and starts to run away, trying to get away from whoever shoot Trent. She doesn’t have time to run very far that you’re already shooting her in the back, also covering her in blue. You laugh maniacally and climb down the tree, having a hard time to not fall on the ground. The two teenagers look at you, Trent sending you a weird look while Gwen sighs in annoyance.

"Oh god, (Y/N). You had to cover us all over?"

" _Shhhhh...._ " You put your finger on your lips, aiming your gun at them a second time. " **You guys are dead now. Dead deers don’t talk.** "

They both shared a scared look, your crazy face being completely terrifying in general. You smile and apologizing for your strange behavior, leaving them behind right after. You creepily walk around in the shadows, searching for your next victim.

_Now, where is that Cody?_

* * *

You hide yourself from Beth, who’s walking angrily in the forest with a bag of BBQ chips: your favorites. You think about shooting her and stealing her chips, but you stop yourself when you hear someone else "psst" at her from the bushes.

"Whoever you are, go ahead, shoot me. You can’t make today any worse."

_Oh, Beth. You’re not making this easy for me._

Cody gets out of the bushes and follows Beth around. "You’re a hunter. I’m a deer. Slight food changing situation with me shooting you. How goes it?"

Your smile stretches out when you see the victim you were searching for, following the two around. You need to wait for a moment where he’ll be alone. If you kill him now, Beth might avenge him by shooting at you.

"I’m so done with this game!"

"What happened? Have you bang any deer yet?"

"No... But I did risk my life to steal a bag of chips!"

_And they look sooooo good._

"What took you so long?!"

You hide behind a tree when you hear Heather’s voice. Could you be the lucky one to shoot all the deers from the other team? Will you get a special reward if you do? Probably not… and Bridgette wanted to shoot Heather, so you’ll let her do it for you instead and just concentrate on Cody.

Beth gives the bag of chips to the fake eyebrow girl. "Here. I hope you know what I had to do to get those."

Heather takes the bag of chips, but rapidly lose her proud smirk when she looks inside it. "There’s like.... eleven chips left! ... and they’re barbecue! Go exchange them for deal pickle!"

She throws the bag on the floor and you almost cry. Those precious chips!

Beth glares at Heather. "No!"

The black-haired girl squints her eyes. " _What did you just say?_ "

"I’m just gonna..." You wait for anticipation as Cody takes the bag of chips from the ground. "Yeah..."

He then left, you preparing your gun and following him.

* * *

"Hm! Barbecue! The king of chip flavors!"

" _ **And I want them, Cody.**_ "

The young boy turns around and sees the tip of your gun right in front of his face, making him scream out like a girl. He lets the bag of chips fall on the ground and runs away, but you shoot him in the back five times, making him fall unto the ground instead. You put the gun back unto your back, taking the chips from the ground and starting to eat them. You watch him get back up and grunt, looking back at you with a smile. He sends you two thumbs up before he walks up to you.

"Congratulations, (Y/N)! You got me! That was pretty violent, thought..."

"Yeah, sorry. I really wanted those chips. I’ve been following Beth for them, you know."

"Oh god, really?" He gives you an impressed look. "So, if I hadn’t gone out to talk to her, you wouldn’t have found me?"

"Probably not."

"Wow. You’re lucky." You laugh at his comment, making him raise an eyebrow at you. "Why are you laughing?"

"You’re the third deer I got to shoot today. I’m _not_ lucky."

You see him shiver when hearing your comment, making you smile more. You give him the bag of chips.

"Here, I’m not that hungry and you seem like you need something to feel better."

He takes them from you, giving you a small smile back. "Thanks. Guess the one deer you didn’t shoot is Heather, right?"

"Yep. But I’m gonna let the others have her. It’s not fun if I shoot everyone." You walk on the opposite way of Cody’s, waving at him. "Have fun being a dead deer!"

"Yeah, sure!"

* * *

You’re up on a tree again, your upper body almost falling into the ground as your legs keep you up in the tree. You’re just waiting for the challenge to finish now... and you’re completely bored. Seriously, can something just happen?

That’s when you see a smiling Duncan running back from a river, saying things like Owen almost got him or something like that. You smirk when he comes close to where you are.

" _Awn, look at you, all cute in your fluffy tail._ " He stops in his tracks and looks up at you, giving you a weird look when he sees the position you’re in. "You almost got shot by Owen, handsome?"

"What are you doing up there?" He crosses his arms while smirking up at you. "Aren’t you supposed to hunt deers?"

You chuckle at him. "I shot three of them today." You point at him, a huge smile on your face. "I think I’ve done my work for the day, deer."

"You shot three of them?"

"Didn’t think I was that good with a gun, huh?"

He chuckles at you and gives you a playful smile. "I guess not. What else are you good at?"

"It’s a secret!" You whisper that part, putting your finger on your lips again.

"So, what now? You’re just waiting?"

" _And I’m booooooored!_ "

You whine and climb down the tree, your paintball gun still on your back. You scrub your eyes with your hands, feeling quite sleepy after all that psycho thing you did.

"I might go back to the campsite."

"That’s sad." You open your eyes to see him close to you, one of his hand put on the tree beside your head. "I was hoping I could have some alone time with you."

"Um, **n** **o** , and for two reasons…. _First_ , I’m with Courtney." He grunts at you and tries to get closer anyway, but you give him a smirk and push his head away from you. "And _second_... how can I take you seriously with that costume?"

"It’s not helping, isn’t it?"

"Nope." You step away from him. "It’s killing all your charm, actually. Not attractive in any way."

"If it wouldn’t get us disqualified, I would take those things off." He points at his antlers. "Maybe then I could convince you to leave the princess and-"

"-run away with the villain?" You smirk back when he gives you one. "Who am I in this story, then? Another princess? I’d rather be the villain itself."

"Baby, if you were my girlfriend, you could be anything you want."

"Yep, no charm whatsoever." He grunts in pure annoyance. "I’m gonna leave before you embarrass yourself."

"Yeah, good idea." You laugh while leaving him there, seeing him putting out a spray can of paint and shaking it. "But I’ll get you later!"

"In your dreams!"

* * *

"Tisk, tisk, tisk...."

You watch Chris walk back and forth in front of all of you, most of the teenagers looking rather ashamed except for yourself.

"Stealing from Chef, eating chips in the woods, being mauled by bears... Do you know what I see here? I see a very undisciplined group. I see a disgraceful mess. I see a massive waste of paint product! And... I have to say..."

His whole serious face transforms into a happy one, the host laughing while talking.

"That was awesome! When you guys open fire on your own team? Wicked TV guys! And (Y/N)!" You smile when you see him point at you. "You shot three people in less than thirty minutes! And you looked **so** crazy! How cool is that?"

"Thanks, Chris." You give him a bright smile as he gives you a thumbs up. This might be one of the rare moments where you two are getting along.

"Yeah, she was cool. But she was also very creepy! No offense, (Y/N)." You shrug at Trent, showing him that it’s not a big deal.

"Sorry, guys. I just felt the power of Satan inside me when I got the gun in my hands."

"Hey." Harold stops everyone from giving you a scared look. "Where are Duncan and Courtney?"

You all look back to see both of them stuck with each other, their antlers trap together. You snort at the sight, both teenagers insulting each other and trying to somehow walk towards the group.

"Duncan, you sly dog, you!" You lose your smile and punch Owen in his arm. " _Ow!_ "

"The girl can’t keep her antlers off me!"

_What?_

The punk boy loses his smirk when Courtney kicks him in his parts, making him want to cry.

"Easy, Courtney. Our medical tents are really only equipped for one at a time and Cody’s pretty messed up." While Chris talks, you and Geoff walk towards the teenagers to separate them, yourself kissing your girlfriend on the cheek and hugging her afterward.

"I missed you." She smiles and hugs you back, pecking your lips with hers.

"I missed you too."

"Okay! Since six of the Gophers are dripping in paint..." Chris stops his sentence when Lindsay turns around, pointing at her entire blue back. "... make that seven members... and some of them aren’t even deers..."

He looks back at your team with a big smile. "I think we have a winner!"

Your whole team screams in happiness, yourself jumping up and down with excitement. You feel someone grab you and kiss you with great passion, Courtney’s arms wrapping themselves around your body. You let yourself melt into her embrace and put your hands in her hair, the two of you almost falling onto the ground.

"Ugh, get a room!" You send your middle finger at Heather, Courtney and yourself not getting apart a single time.

It feels like you won’t let each other go for a while...

* * *

"Courtney, where are we going? It’s the middle of the night… and I want to sleep."

You're both in your pajamas and walking in the woods right now. You were about to fall asleep when your girlfriend woke you up, saying it was an emergency. Hearing you, Courtney simply keeps walking with your hand in hers, the girl looking back at you.

"We’re going to the bathroom."

"... why?"

"Why do you think a bathroom is for?"

You frown as you think about what she’s saying, you’re eyes opening wide when you understand what she means.

"Are you telling me you woke me up just so I could come with you in there?"

"It’s exactly what I did."

"Courtney, I’m tired! We don’t have to be together 24/7!" You get out of her grip, surprising her. "I’m going back to bed."

She crosses her arms on her chest. " _Fine_. Sorry for wanting to spend time with you."

"Courtney, you’re sixteen, not five. You can survive for ten minutes without me."

She rolls her eyes at you, a little annoyed by your reaction, then you both part ways. Ugh, clearly, you don’t fully understand her needs. Yet, you can’t believe she wanted you to follow her to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Not because she’s afraid of something, but because she doesn’t want to leave you alone! Seriously, she has a problem.

"You look like you’ve been into a fight.." You jump out of your skin when you hear Duncan’s voice. You look up to see him leaning down at you from up the stairs of the cabin, grinning like crazy.

"Why are you still up?" You ask him as you climb up the stairs, your eyes closing a little from being tired.

"Why are _you_? Is the princess too clingy, sugar?" His question stops you in your tracks and you glare at him.

"That’s none of your business." You scrub your face with your hands and yawn, starting to walk to your cabin’s door. "’ night."

"Wait a second." You annoyingly turn around, seeing him giving you a disappointed look. "That’s it? You’re not even gonna talk to me?"

You quirk an eyebrow, slightly smirking. "I’m really glad you want to be friends again, but I just want to sleep… So I’m gonna go."

You touch the door handle and about to open it when you feel him grab your wrist, the boy pulling you back with a huge force. You don’t even have time to react that you’re already trapped in his arms, his face only inches away from yours. You feel the heat rise inside your body as you look at his piercing blue eyes. His lips form a playful smile once more.

" _How about we try something before you leave?_ " You blink with shock, opening your mouth to talk.

"Wai-" He stops you from saying anything more, grabbing your lips with his and instantly giving you the most intense kiss you’ve ever had in your life. You feel your brain go blank as you let yourself go, your fingers grabbing his shirt while he puts one of his hands behind your head. You don’t notice that you’ve been walking around until your back hits the wall between the two doors, putting your arms behind his neck with your body stuck between his and the cabin. You feel a huge fire burn inside you and you shiver in pleasure, letting him have absolute control.

He parts away from you and breathes down your neck, brushing your ear with the tip of his lips.

" _ **I knew**_ _ **you**_ _ **still like me.**_ "

You come back to your senses, a screaming voice in your head insulting you and making you remember about Courtney, your incredible girlfriend. You open your eyes wide and you push him back enough to be able to get away from him, your feet leading you to your cabin’s door. You send him a hard look, the boy smirking.

" **This.** _All_ of **this**. It will _not_ happen again."

"Yes, it _will._ And it will happen **a lot**."

His smile stretches out as he approaches you, trapping you between him and the door with his arms on each side of your head.

"I need to make up for all the times she did this to you in front of me."

"I’m _not_ gonna be a cheater!"

"You won’t become one." He puts his hand on your left cheek, his thumb caressing it slowly. "Because you’re gonna leave her..." He kisses you a second time and parts away. “...for me."

"Stop..." You get interrupted by a third kiss but manage to get away from him for a moment. "... it."

" _ **Make me.**_ "

Your heart breaks as your mouths dance together again, your brain processing the idea of leaving Courtney for him. Should you leave her?

_No! No, no, no, no, no!_

Why are you in this situation? You feel the anxiety transform into pure panic as you think about a way of getting out of this… Can you really though?

You grab the door handle behind you, putting the other one on Duncan’s shoulder. Slowly, you turn the handle and, when you hear it click, you push him back, getting inside the cabin and closing the door. You let yourself fall on the floor and hear his laugh, probably amused by your reaction. You then hear him open the door to his side of the cabin and close it, breathing out in relief. With the last forces in you, your whole body shaking from this experience, you slowly get up and climb into your bed, trying to fall asleep without any success.

When you feel Courtney slip inside the covers moments later, you turn around and hug her as you hide your face in her neck. Her arms give you back your affection and you feel her kiss the top of your head, having to use all your strength to not cry right at this moment.

You just feel like a monster.


	11. TDI: If You Can't Take The Heat

**Chapter Ten: If You Can’t Take The Heat**

You can’t sleep.

You hate yourself too much to sleep.

You look at Courtney’s face; her beautiful, peaceful face. Your stomach twists awfully, making you close your eyes in pain.

God, why did you let this happen? Why?

_I deserve to feel like this._

In need of some advice, you breathe in and open your eyes again, searching for Bridgette. You spot her on the other side of the room, still sleeping in her bed. You bite your bottom lip as you look down at your girlfriend, her body blocking the only way out of bed. Slowly, you try to leave by walking over her, your feet touching the ground without waking her up somehow.

You walk closer to Bridgette with tears coming into your eyes, remembering that all of this is on TV. What will your parents think of you?

They must be so disappointed in you.

" _Bridgette._ " You whisper her name and shake her body with your hands, feeling completely desperate now. You see her eyes open and sigh in relief, the girl sending you a confused look.

"(Y/N)? It’s like… five in the morning. What’s happening?"

" _I need to talk to you._ "

She notices your pained expression and immediately gets out of bed, taking your arm.

"Let’s go outside." She walks towards the door in silence. "We’ll talk more freely."

When you feel the cold breeze and see the sun slowly appear on the horizon, you let yourself get dragged away by Bridgette into the dark forest, finally stopping when you’re both far enough from the cabins. When your blond friend looks back at you, you let yourself go and start to cry.

" _Bri’, I-_ _I_ _’m… I’m a mon-ons-t-ter!_ " You feel her hands rest on your shoulders as you hide your face in yours. "I’m an ho-ori-b-ble person!"

" _(Y/N), no!_ " She shakes your body and you free your face to see her give you a worried but stern look. "Stop being so mean to yourself! Please, just tell me what happened..."

"L-last n-night…." You take a long breath, trying to calm down your voice. "Last night… Duncan… he kissed me."

She gives you a shocked face. "What?"

"And… I let him do it… multiple times."

"But you’re with Courtney!"

"I know!" Your voice cracks at that last part and you hug yourself, trying hard to not fall unto the ground. "I tried **so hard**. So hard! But I shut down and I’m so confused and he asked me to leave her and I don’t want to cause I love her so much but I also like him and I don’t know what to do and-"

" **Wait.** " You stop your excessive monologue when you hear your friend talk. "He asked you to leave Courtney?"

You hesitate. "Well… yeah…"

She tilts her head at you, worried. "Do… do you want to leave her?"

" **No!** " You don’t even question yourself. "B-but-

"-But you also want to be with him." She crosses her arms on her chest. "What are you gonna do?"

"I don’t know…. I don’t know…. _ **I don’t know!**_ "

She sighs and she takes you in her arms, petting your back and shushing you.

"(Y/N), I know you don’t want to hear this, but..." She looks at you in the eyes. "You need to make a choice."

"I know, but…"

" **Make a choice.** " She gives you a very serious look. " _Duncan... or Courtney?_ "

You close your eyes and visualize their faces, pain hitting you again. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, opening your eyes again.

" _Courtney._ " You feel your whole body relax. "I’m gonna stay with Courtney."

"Good." She lets go of you. "You need to tell Duncan it’s over."

"I already told him! He doesn’t listen!"

"Then that’s one more reason to tell Courtney what happened." Your heart sinks.

" **She’s gonna hate me**."

"She’s gonna be pissed, but if she truly loves you, she’ll forgive you. And she’ll also completely stop Duncan from doing anything if she knows what’s happening."

"You’re right…" You massage your temple. "… would you… would you go get her for me?"

"You’re gonna do this now?" Your friend looks at you with a surprised expression, but then she nods. "You’re right. The sooner, the better."

She leaves you there, walking back to where the cabins are. You sit down on a rock, looking up at some squirrels up in the trees with heavy breathing. The sun’s almost up now… You’re pretty sure that Chris will wake up everyone after your talk with Courtney.

That’s when you hear footsteps coming your way, looking down to see your girlfriend walking towards you with a very confused expression.

"How did you get out of bed?" You smile at her and you get up.

"With ninja skills." She grins at you and takes your hand in hers, making you lose your smile. "I… I need to tell you something."

Her expression changes to a dreadful one and worry sets in her eyes.

"Don’t tell me you’re breaking up with me." Your eyes open up like crazy.

"… what...?"

"If it’s because of what I did last night, I’m sorry. I’m just afraid that one of us we’ll be kicked out and we won’t be able to be together… So I want to spend as much time with you as possible… but I get that I’m a little overboard sometimes an-"

"Courtney, I’m not breaking up with you."

"Oh, thank god." She gives you a bright smile and squeezes your hand in hers. "What is it, then?"

You open your mouth to talk, but no words come out. Tears go up in your eyes, making Courtney worried. She takes your face in her hands.

"Honey…?"

" **I’m so sorry!** "

"Love, why are you sorry? What happened?"

"Something… " You close your eyes, all the worst scenarios coming up in your mind. "Something happened last night…"

"… what exactly?"

"Well, Duncan…" Her features darken when you say his name. "He… he kissed me."

An angry spark flashes through her eyes and you feel her hands tighten around your face. You wish you could hide at the moment, the atmosphere around her starting to crush you.

" _ **He did what?**_ " Her voice is venomous and she looks through you with an unreadable expression.

"He kissed me." Her jaw lock and her hands go down to your shoulders. "…. multiple times."

She doesn’t answer you, almost like she’s lost in her thoughts, which makes you wonder if you broke her. Maybe telling her was a bad idea…

"I tried to fight it." Your words seem to wake her up and her crazy eyes sets on you once more. "I tried so hard but-"

" _You like him too, I know._ " A creepy smile appears on her lips and ta terrified feeling grab your chest. " _I knew this would happen... I knew that idiot would try to take you from me! I knew it!_ "

"Courtney-"

" **I shouldn’t have left you last night...** " You feel her nails dig in your skin, hurting you. " _ **I’m gonna kill him.**_ "

"Courtney, you’re hurting me." She slowly blinks, processing what you just told her. She then releases you, panic overcoming the anger when she sees the blood come out of your skin.

"Oh go, **no!** (Y/N), I’m sorry!" She cups your face in her hands again, searching for your eyes. "I didn’t want to hurt you, I don’t what happened, I… Please, please, please, forgive me!"

"I should be the one to ask you that." You give her a sad smile and she sighs in relief, kissing your forehead.

"Thank you for telling me." You give her a surprised look while she laughs. "I’m not mad at you, sweetie. I’m mad at _him_. He **knows** you’re mine."

Hearing her say those words make you feel better and you smile happily. You’re so relieved that she doesn’t hate you… God, you love her so much! Her face gets closer to yours and you feel heat spread on your cheeks, the girl giving you a sly smile.

"No one…" She traps your lips with hers, savoring the taste of your mouth for a moment before pulling away. "… touch what’s mine."

Maybe it was a good idea to tell her.

* * *

After Courtney and you changed into day clothes, Chris’ voice woke everyone else up, saying that the next challenge will start soon. So here you are at the beach, standing between Courtney and Sadie as Duncan stands beside your girlfriend. You feel Courtney take your hand in hers and hear her grind her teeth, trying hard to not punch him.

Well, she _could_ punch him, but she promised to not make a scene in front of everyone.

"Today’s challenge will test your minds, your teamwork and your skills in the kitchen." You turn your attention to the host, his usual big smile on his face. "You’ll be cooking a three courses meal and serving it to me for tasting! The winners get a reward and the losers will send somebody home! Each team will appoint a head chef to create the theme of the meal and to oversee the cooking."

_Not me._

"To cook, you need ingredients. Every morning, a truck gives us food!" You look behind you to see a truck come out of the water. "Today’s task starts there!"

"Hum, Chris? Why is there a dolphin driving this truck?"

"Stop asking questions, (Y/N)!"

You roll your eyes at the host and follow your girlfriend, looking back at the truck to see that most guys from your team are already there. You arrive at the moment they decide that Geoff would be the head chef, silently agreeing... and you’re also doing an Italian theme?

"I hope I don’t mess this up."

"You won’t, honey." Courtney kiss your cheek and gives you a crate. "You’ll be perfect."

You send her a bright smile and follow the rest of the team back to the lodge. Geoff starts to talk when you put down your crate on a table.

"Okay! We got like three courses and seven people!" He proceeds to throw a can of tomato sauce that Harold catches. "So, everybody partner up!"

"I know how to make pasta sauce." DJ smile while Bridgette gasps.

"I know how to boil pasta!" They both high five each other and send finger guns.

"I and Sadie can rock the antipasto." You playfully smile when you see Harold start to do his weird moves again. "I’m like a black belt when it comes to cutting cheese."

Everybody starts to laugh at him and he doesn’t seem to understand why.

"What?" Nobody answers him and you just smile at him when he looks at you. "What!?"

" **Well. I guess that leaves me and you two on dessert.** " Your freeze when you hear Duncan’s voice directed at you and Courtney.

"Oh, hell no." Your girlfriend gives him a mean look and point at him, a dark aura forming around her. "You are not working with us!"

"Come on, Courtney!" Geoff gets in and puts an arm around her shoulders, giving her a bright smile. "It’s for the team!"

"I don’t care if it’s for this-." She stops when she sees him give her puppy eyes, almost begging her. "Ugh, alright. But I’m not sure if (Y/N) is okay with this."

He turns his face to you and takes your hands in his, catching you by surprise.

"(Y/N), surely you understand that we need to win this challenge at all costs, right?" He flutters his eyelids and gives you a sweet smile, trying hard to win your vote.

"… Fine." You look aside to see your girlfriend sending Duncan an angry look while he simply smiles playfully at her.

"That’s settled then! Let’s go make those meals, guys!"

* * *

" **I don’t trust him.** " Your girlfriend angrily stares at Duncan while he’s checking the ingredients you three need for the dessert, yourself knowing a cannoli recipe from your grandmother. "He’s gonna kiss you again, I know it!"

"No, he won’t. You’re with me right now." You casually try to ignore this conversation, the subject making you feel awkward. You feel her arms wrap around you as she puts her head on your shoulder, gently kissing your cheek in the process.

"He better not." She tightens her grip on you and closes her eyes. "I’m gonna kill him if he does."

"I would prefer if you don’t." Your lips stretch out into a smirk. "Visiting my girlfriend in jail is not my ideal relationship."

"Oh, it’s not?" You feel her smile on your neck. "What’s your ideal relationship, then?"

You laugh and put your hand on hers. "I don’t know. As long as we’re happy, everything is fine for me."

Courtney is about to answer you when you hear Harold scream. You look back at him, seeing that DJ has let a bucket of water drop on his head… and from the fact that he looks like he’s faking apologies, it might have been on purpose.

"Woah, bummer!" You hear Geoff fakely say that to Harold while you and Bridgette arrive from different directions. "Better go change, dude!"

As soon as Harold quit the lodge, both of the guy's fist bump and laugh. You and Bridgette give them an angry look. They notice how mad you two are and send you innocent smiles.

"Why are you guys bullying him?" You cross your arms as they look at each other. "I thought you were nice people."

"It’s not what you think." DJ tries to explain the situation to you, but you stop him.

"Actually, I don’t care why. Just stop." And you left them there, going back to Courtney and Duncan, the latter having put down the ingredients you asked him to gather for you. You look at them, trying your very best to ignore their glare contest.

"So. Which one of you has the most experience with baking?" They look back at you at the same time and smile. Your girlfriend hits Duncan on the side to cut him off.

"My parents paid me private cooking lessons." She gives you a bright smile as Duncan glares at her, still in pain. You bite your bottom lip, thinking about a plan that you didn’t like.

"I see... What about you, Duncan?"

"I’d say I’m alright." He grunts a little before smirking at you. "I’m not a professional though, can’t say I won’t mess anything up."

"Ugh, I knew it." You massage your temples and sigh. "Courtney, since you’re the most experienced of us three, it will be best if you work alone on the shells."

"But what about-"

"Duncan is gonna help me with the filling. Then, when we’re done, we’ll come to help you." You try to ignore her angry face and his victorious smile. "I’m not doing this because I want to. I’m doing this because it’s the most efficient way to make a badass dessert."

"That’s fine with me." You give Duncan an annoyed look, his smirk growing bigger. "I get to spend some time with you."

" **I swear!** " You give Courtney a shocked when she takes a grip of his shirt, glaring menacingly at him. " **Stop trying to take her away from me, you idiot.** "

"Courtney, wha-"

" **Now, now. Why would I stop?** " A strange glow appears in his eyes and his smile turn into an evil one. "I’ve wanted her to be mine for a long time. In my point of view, _you’re_ the one who took her away."

"Guys, come o-"

"If you **even** try to touch her again, I’m gonna kill you."

"Courtney, you promised to no-"

"Oh? So you know what happened last night?" You grunt in annoyance when you see that they’re not paying attention to you. " **D** **id she tell you how much she liked it?** "

" _Oh my god, shut up!_ " You whisper that part, half annoyed and half about to have a panic attack. Courtney pushes him away and insults him, making him laugh in the process. You try to get their attention, but nothing works. They just continue fighting.

"You know what? I don’t care. If you guys want to fight, do it. I’m gonna work on the shells alone and you’ll work together on the filling."

And that’s how you leave your two love interests, starting to work on the shells.

* * *

You’ve finished the shells thirty minutes later, your precious babies cooling off on the counter as you’re starting to work on the filling. Yes, Duncan and Courtney are  _still_ fighting over you and it’s purely exhausting, the two having thrown stuff at each other and all. Geoff, DJ and Bridgette all came by to help you, also trying to make your two love interests to stop fighting. You appreciate their kindness, but you’re starting to get pissed off by the other two.

Luckily, Harold stops the whole situation when he comes wearing only his shirt and some boxers, making Courtney scream and hide her eyes.

"Okay, who took all my shorts?"

"Seriously?" You stop whipping your cream and look at DJ and Geoff. "You took his shorts?"

The two guys just start laughing, your two partners noticing that you almost finished everything by yourself. You give all of them an annoyed look and turn your attention back at Harold, noticing that Chris is behind the wooden doors.

"Ugh." He makes a horrible face upon seeing Harold’s state. "Three hours in counting, guys."

You grumble under your breath as you put the whipped cream into the rest of your mix. Everyone gets back to cooking, shadows darkening your view of the counter. You look up, seeing Courtney and Duncan smiling at you.

" _ **Oh, so you guys decided to finally help me?**_ "

Duncan lazily puts his arms on the counter while Courtney sends you sorry eyes, yourself having a very pissed off face at the moment.

"Love, I’m sorry." You put plastic wrap unto your cherry and chocolate bowl mix while hearing your girlfriend trying to make amends with you. "Forgive me, please?

"Don’t be sad, sugar. We just got carried away a little. How can we help?"

"Actually, there’s nothing to do right now." You go put the bowl in the fridge before looking back at them. "We just need to wait for this to chill for thirty minutes before piping the filling into the shells. So, you might as well go **help** the others and actually do something instead of fighting."

You don’t even let them say anything that you’re already leaving to go help Harold and Sadie, your whole body screaming at you to get your anger out. Maybe they’ll let you squeeze tomatoes with your bare hands. Sadly, they don’t. But they give you a knife to cut things. And you like it. A lot.

"Dude, you gotta put some clothes on, man!" You stop cutting vegetables and look beside you to see Geoff and DJ smirking down at Harold. "It’s unsanitary to cook in something that… small."

"So give me back my pants then!" You try hard to not scream at your teammates for bullying Harold, cutting the vegetables with a new profound passion instead. You still see Duncan get close to the other guys, the same smile on his lips.

"Harold’s right, guys!" You don’t believe that he’s being nice when you hear the tone of his voice, seeing him putting a hand on Harold’s shoulder. "If you go to the cabin, you’ll find a clean pair of underwear and shorts waiting."

And of course, as soon as your brother by heart leaves, you hear them laugh like maniacs. You see them show off the hottest sauce you’ve ever come across in your life. In less time than you know to control yourself, you shove the knife your holding right into the table, making a loud noise. The boys look back at you, seeing the knife stuck in the table and your hair down on your face.

"Um, (Y/N)? You’re okay?" You move your head slightly, your dark and evil eyes making them shiver. You chuckle darkly.

"Oh, I’m _fine._ " You take the knife out of the table and put it down slowly. "I’m _fine._ Everything is _fine_."

You walk away, not wanting to confront them with all this bad energy in you. You hate bullies so much and for a lot of reasons, and it’s not just because you’ve been a victim of bullying yourself.

Why is everyone so immature today?

* * *

You hear clapping as you’re taking out the filling of the fridge, putting it besides the shelves. You look at the entrance to see Harold come in with some pajamas on, the three other guys applauding him.

"Nice jammies." You try to ignore Duncan’s comment and greet Harold with a smile when he comes close to you and Sadie. Somehow, you’ve managed to help your team finish the antipasto AND made most of the dessert by yourself. You doubt people will vote for you if you lose, but at this point, you’re so committed to this, you better win this whole challenge.

"This is all I’ve got left. So, if you sickos want to see me butt-naked, hit me with your best shot."

"Well, stop leaving your butt bags all over the cabin and we’ll back off!"

_Is this why they’re bullying him?_

"I told you it wasn’t me!"

"Well, I tried."

"Hey, guys! I made some sandwiches!" You give your cowboy friend a weird look. "We can chow down while we work!"

"No thanks."He loses his smile, but Harold runs towards him and takes one in his hands.

"Oh, sweet! I’m seriously starving!" You don’t have time to stop him that he’s already chewing it, the other boys smiling like crazy. "This taste like sweat and lotion… It’s probably the worst sandwich ever…"

He takes something out of the sandwich, dropping everything when he sees that it's his used underwear. The boys and Sadie start to laugh, anger flashing in your eyes.

_**They didn’t.** _

"We’ll return all your shorts and panties…" Geoff talks while holding the plate of sandwiches. "...when you admit your guilt, dude!"

" _Seriously!?_ " You put a hand on Harold’s shoulder and take a step in front of him, glaring at the others with controlled anger. "You guys are stealing is pants, putting hot sauce in them and making him eat is own underwear just because he doesn’t want to admit something!?"

"Woah, chill out, (Y/N). We’re just having fun!"

"You think it’s **fun** …?" You give Duncan a strange smile. "You think making fun of someone non-stop is **fun**? You think always _pranking_ them, _insulting_ them, is **fun**? You think _bullying_ someone is **fun**?"

"(Y/N), seriously, dude. Calm down." You turn your head to Geoff, who is putting down the plate on the counter. "We’re just pranking him."

"You always think it’s fun. You always think it’s all happy and sunshine. You always think that there are no consequences. Well, guess **what** , guys, there are consequences! But you’re always willing to do something when it’s _too_ late!"

"(Y/N), it’s fine." You look back at Sadie. "It’s just a prank."

"Oh yeah? Maybe you can explain that to my little sister." You make a pause and start to smile sadly. "Oh wait! You can’t! She’s dead!"

Everyone’s face drops.

"You still think it’s fun?" You wait for a response, everyone looking elsewhere. "That’s what I thought. You guys can finish this challenge if you want, but I’m done with your bullshit."

"(Y/N), we’re sorry-"

" **Goodbye.** "

No one had the heart to stop you leaving.

* * *

You’re outside and sitting on a rock as you’re holding your head in your hands, a freaking lot of guilt crushing you.

"Well, that was pretty intense."

You look up to see Bridgette giving you a sad smile. You sigh, hugging yourself.

"Why do I always react like that, Bri’? That wasn’t necessary."

"I think you did a good thing." You give her a weird stare. "Sure, it might have come out a little excessive, but your point was valid. Bullying is bad and they should take it more seriously."

You shake your head while smiling. "You know, I don’t have anything against a little prank from time to time. But what they did today? That was off-limits for me."

"Well, I’m pretty sure none of them are gonna do anything to Harold anymore." She pauses while thinking. "Not today, at least. The boys are still gonna try to make him admit his guilt somehow."

You chuckle sadly, your friend putting a hand on your shoulder.

"I’m sorry about your sister, (Y/N)." You feel the tears appear in your eyes and she squeezes your shoulder. "And I’m sorry that you had to tell us this way."

"It’s fine." You look up at her and smile. "How is the challenge going?"

She gets that you don’t want to talk about it and copy your smile. "Everything’s great! Courtney and Duncan are trying to finish the dessert without your help. Something about making you proud or something? Yeah… but they can’t get along."

Your eyes open wide. "They’re gonna ruin it!"

"Probably, yeah." Her smile grows when she sees you get up, starting to walk back to the lodge. "Where are you going?"

"Saving my dessert. This is _my_ masterpiece!"

* * *

No one sees you coming back in the kitchen, so you have plenty of time to see your girlfriend scream at Duncan that he’s doing everything wrong… and honestly, he kind of is.

"You’re such a slob! They all have to have the same amount of custard!"

"Oh relax! They’re fine! Plus, (Y/N) made most of the work, so it’s gonna taste amazing."

"The presentation also has to look good! Come on, we need to do this perfectly for her, we already did a lot of wrong things today."

"I know. You already told me a billion times."

"Well, obviously, it doesn’t work!"

"You know, you’ll be a lot more fun without that pull up your butt."

She gaps. "I’m like the most easy-going person I know!"

"Pretty sure (Y/N) is easier going, princess."

"Oh, yeah… Well, I’m the second easy-going person then!"

"Oh yeah, you’re totally laid back." He proceeds to throw some custard in her face. You put your hands on your mouth, trying to not laugh as your girlfriend takes a bowl with your mixture in it and throws it on his head.

… but you can’t stop it. You laugh loudly and hold your belly, trying your best to not fall on the floor. They both look back at you and start to smile, happy to see you back and laughing. You try to walk closer to them and put out tears of joy from your eyes, your laughter finally dying after a minute or two.

"How did you guys manage to not burn what I’ve done already?" You take the custard from Duncan’s hand, the one that isn’t ruined by his head, and you look down at your precious babies. "Let me see if I can save these."

They watch you put custard evenly in each one of the shells, also making a nice pattern at each end to make it look prettier. When you’re done, you bite your lips in wonder.

"It’s missing something."

"Honey, it’s perfect! The filling is full of vanilla, chocolate, and cherry and the shelves are perfectly cooked. What could it possibly miss?"

"I hate to admit it, but the princess’ right. They look _really_ good."

You ignore their comments and simply take the bag of sugar on the counter, putting some of it on your precious babies. You then spot some chocolate crumbs, putting that on as well before you smile happily.

"There! Now, it’s perfect!" You look back at them and noticed that Duncan no longer has the bowl on his head, trying to take the custard off with a towel. "I swear, guys. If we don’t win this thing, I’m gonna make a scene."

* * *

It’s currently fifteen to eleven for you guys, thanks to Owen and the fact that he ate almost the whole plate of ribs that the Gophers made. You have a chance to win this, but if your dessert is not up for the challenge, you’ll lose.

You watch Chris takes one cannoli in his hand, your heart pounding like crazy. You normally don’t care if you win a challenge or not, but this is something you made. You put your heart and soul into this dessert and if Chris doesn’t like it, you don’t think you’ll be able to bake ever again.

Your girlfriend wraps an arm around your waist as Duncan puts his hand your right shoulder, both trying to comfort you. You see the host eyes go wide as he takes a bite and you wait for him to tell you that it’s awful. That those are the worst cannolis he ever ate… He doesn’t say anything and finishes the whole cannoli right in front of you, taking another one in his hand and looking back at you with a bright smile.

"Wow, dude! Those are delicious! Ten points to you!"

You feel your lips stretch out and your body relax. Your girlfriend hugs you and kisses your cheek, Duncan taking the plate off the table with a victorious smile.

"So! The Bass are at twenty-five points! The Gophers will need to make a hell of a dessert to win this thing." Chris looks down at Lindsay’s and Gwen’s dessert. "I have to say, this looks like a winner."

The whole thing disappears into ashes as soon as Chris touches it with his fork. When he takes a bite of a small chunk, he begins to choke on it and Owen somehow saves him.

"What the heck is that?!" The host points at a weird ball thing that just came out of his mouth.

"It’s Heather’s recipe!" Lindsay gasps and runs back to the kitchen. "She’s still in the fridge!"

… _What?_

Heather arrives in the room, making you all cringe at her blue body.

" _You are so dead!_ " Heather gives Beth and Leshawna an evil glare. "Ugh! Is it over?"

"Yes, it is! The Bass wins twenty-five to twelve! And it’s not just because I almost died." Chris gives the team a mean look. "The ribs stunk too."

"Great, that’s just great! Why do we keep losing, people!" Heather walks to the table and spots a little statue on it. "And what is this? I didn’t approve this!"

Beth starts to play with her hands, nervous. "I-I brought it back as a souvenir… You know, from the other island?"

" _You_ _what…!_ "

"You mean Bony Island?" Chris gets up with a scarred expression. "The deadliest island in Muskoka? The one I specifically said not to take anything from or you’ll be cursed?"

"Um… Yeah…? I didn’t know! I’ll put it back!" Beth takes the statue in her hands and immediately leaves while Chris shakes his head at her.

"...Okay. The Bass lead with eight members to the Gophers soon to be six. The winners would be getting a reward tonight. A five stars dinner… under the stars!"

Your whole team screams and cheers, happiness filling your heart.

* * *

You wake up the next morning by a loud thud coming from outside, yourself getting out of the covers with a really confused expression. None of the other girls are awake, so you take the opportunity to go investigate.

Well, you weren’t expecting to see Duncan, Geoff, and DJ trying to move Harold’s bed in silence as he’s sleeping in it.

" _What are you guys doing?_ " You whisper that question, not processing what’s happening right now. It looks like they had accidentally dropped the bed and are now trying to get it back up in the air, but without success. The three boys stop what they’re doing when they hear your voice, looking back at the cabins to see you with a confused expression. They give you innocent smiles.

"Nothing...!" Geoff tries to salvage their situation and you cross your arms. "Harold just needs some… fresh air!"

"Is he…." Your eyes open wide and you give them a shock expression. "Is he naked!?"

"Don’t worry, sugar, he did that on his own." Duncan rolls his eyes while answering the imminent question in your mind. "He’s always doing gross stuff like that."

"Yeah, that’s why we’re doing this." DJ continues to explain while you start to think. "We tried to talk to him about it, but he doesn’t want to admit anything or listen, so that’s why we got to… that point."

The big guy points to a naked Harold sleeping peacefully in his bed. You frown when you see the boys trying to get the bed up again. You massage your left temple and sigh. You might regret this later.

"You guys need help?" You walk down the stairs and approach them, the three boys smirking back at you.

"Well, well. Who would have expected that from you, honey?" You roll your eyes at Duncan while getting a hold of one side of the bed with DJ.

"Shut up, you’re gonna wake him up." You whisper that part to him before helping them get the bed on the dock. With your help, you guys manage to do it without dropping it or causing any other incident, Harold staying asleep the whole time. All of you then proceeds to run back to the cabins, snickering about the whole situation.

"Man, if he doesn’t admit his guilt after that…" Geoff looks back at you three and smiles. "I don’t know what else we can do, dude."

"Well, maybe we could ask (Y/N) for some ideas…" You feel Duncan put his arm around your shoulders, the boy smirking victoriously.

"No way, guys!" You look aside to give Duncan a slight smirk. "I only share my awesome prank ideas with people that deserve it."

"You’re saying that we don’t?" You look back at DJ and Geoff, who are giving you shocking expressions upon what you just said.

"Hm, maybe you do. Who knows?" You get out of Duncan’s grip and start to go to your door’s cabin. "I’m gonna get changed."

"Hey, wait!" You turn back again and stare at the boys, Geoff smiling at you brightly. "We were gonna go take a ride on one of the canoes around the lake. Wanna come?"

You give them a smile and a weird stare. "I think you forgot something…" You completely turn around and point to yourself. "I can’t swim."

"So?" DJ puts a hand on Geoff’s shoulder and gives you the same smile as the blond. "We’re gonna wear safety jackets."

"And we can always go and save you if you ever fall into the water!" Geoff continues to try to win you over while DJ nods and Duncan smirks. They’re all waiting for your positive response as you take a look at the cabin.

"… I’m not sure Courtney would approve this-"

"Oh, come on! You’ll be fine!" You give Duncan an annoyed look and his smirk grows. "Don’t tell me your girlfriend controls everything you do."

"It’s not like that-"

"(Y/N), please?" You look back at Geoff and DJ, the two giving you the puppy eyes. "We never get a chance to hang out with you."

You bite your bottom lip, actually thinking about it. You shouldn’t pass some time with Duncan…. Courtney might be mad, especially if he tries something... but again, Geoff and DJ _will_ be there and they know that you’re taken, so he can’t do anything in front of them, right? Arg, but they’re his friends! Surely, they already know about the whole fucked up situation and this is part of a plan!

"… Fine." You try to ignore the three boys giving themselves high fives, hoping deep down that this isn’t some stupid plan to make you leave Courtney. "Let me go change into my swimsuit first."

"See ya later, dude!"

* * *

You’re in your (F/C) swimsuit that you wore on the first day, a safety jacket on as well. You’re currently sitting in the middle of the canoe with Geoff by your side, Duncan sitting in the front and DJ sitting at the back as both of them paddle. So far, nothing as happen… except for you guys sharing stories, cracking jokes and just having fun. Which is.. pretty nice. Really nice, even.

A little earlier, all the girls from both teams decided to go swimming while you four paddled around. Your girlfriend gave you a weird look from afar, but when she saw that Geoff and DJ were with you, she calmed down and let you have fun with them.

And, of course, now you’re just all waiting for Harold to wake up.

" _Good morning, Harold!_ " You slurp the juice from your juice box that Geoff gave you earlier as you watch your brother by heart hide behind his pillow.

"So, learned your lesson yet?" You slightly punch Duncan on his back, only succeed at making him laugh.

" _Yes!_ " Harold has his eyes closed, screaming that word like he’s desperate. Geoff laughs.

"We’re gonna need more than that, man!"

"I’ll never leave my crusty underwear out again! I swear!"

"Ew. Didn’t need to say it like that." You shake your head to try and forget that image.

"What the heck, I believe him." Geoff proceeds to take a bag in the canoe and throws it back at Harold, Duncan, and DJ starting to paddle again. "It’s a pleasure doing business with ya!"

They all start to laugh while Harold runs back to the cabin, yourself just looking at the light reflecting on the water, already bored out of your mind. You look at the guys, who are still laughing.

"You guys do know that you’ll have to take the bed back in the cabin, right?"

You smirk when they stop laughing. You’re so great at killing the mood.


	12. TDI: Who Can You Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mention of nudity at the end of the chapter, pre-lemon part.

**Chapter Eleven: Who Can You Trust**

"Today’s breakfast is Hawaiian and Italian fusion casserole!" Chef hands over a plate of green mixed food to Gwen, you waiting for your turn just behind her.

"You mean leftovers from the cooking challenge." Chef gives Gwen a hard look.

"Yeah, that’s right! You got a problem with that!?"

"Sir! No, Sir!" Your friend proceeds to make a salute sign, Chef imitating her. When she leaves, he turns to you and starts to prepare your breakfast.

"Actually, can I just have water?" He stops what he’s doing to give you a mean stare. "I’m just not hungry this morning."

You feel your stomach growl in agony and beg you to give it food, but you bite the inside of your mouth to stop the pain. You might have lied about the "not hungry" part, but you know that if you eat, you’re gonna feel sick. Chef slowly puts his hands on the counter, preparing yourself for some screaming, but he gives you a worried look instead.

"Girl, you need to eat something or you gonna drop dead one day." Your heart squeezes at his words. He can’t know that you haven’t eaten that much since the beginning of the summer, right? How can he? None of your friends have found out. Duncan hasn’t found out! And he keeps looking at you every five minutes! Hell, Courtney hasn’t found out! And she spends every single minute of the day with you! Chef _can’t_ know!

"What are you talking about?" You try to give a bright smile, but it feels like a false and cringy one. "I just don’t want to eat this morning. I’m fine."

"You haven’t eaten anything at any morning." He crosses his arms and looks down at you as you lose your smile. "You also haven’t eaten anything at any lunch or dinner. The only times you ate something were the two times we served you good food, which was at the Awake-a-ton challenge and at your five stars dinner. And you haven’t eaten that much even then."

"That’s not true." You try to salvage the situation. "I also eat the junk food Bridgette finds. A-and other food, too. You’re not always there, you can’t know."

"A small bag of chips every two or three days? That’s not enough, (Y/N)." He looks at you suspiciously. "I’ve watched the tapes with Chris for the show, it’s pretty obvious that you never eat. I don’t understand how you’re still standing."

Your body starts to shake and you grab your own arms to try and calm down. If Chef knows, that means Chris knows. That also means that every person who will watch the show is going to know, including your family. Oh god. They’re gonna force you to eat too much again, won’t they? It’s not the first time you’re doing this… You just can’t control it. Just the thought of having to eat makes you want to vomit.

"I’m _fine_." You hug yourself and give him a mean look. "Why do you guys care anyway? It’s more drama for your show, no? How much longer will (Y/N) stand on her feet without falling in a coma? Watch the next episode to find out!"

"It’s not good drama if you die and we get lawsuits."

 _Ah, there’s the real reason_.

Chef gets closer to your level.

" _Chris has talked about it with the producers and if you don’t start to eat again, we’re kicking you out of the show._ " You give him an annoyed look. "We'll also send you somewhere to help you with this problem."

"You can’t do that!" You whisper that sentence as you lose your facade. "My parents wo-"

"Your parents already agreed to this." You bite your bottom lip and he pushes a plate of food on your way. " **Eat this.** "

"… _Fine._ " You take the plate in your hands and feel tears starting to form in your eyes. "I’ll _try_ to eat, but I can’t promise anything."

You go sit down alone at the end of your team’s table, feeling a huge headache as you do so. You look back at Chef, who’s waiting for you to take a bite, and, reluctantly, you take one. You try hard to not spit it out as you’re chewing, finally swallowing it after a few seconds. Chef gives you a victorious smile and disappears in his kitchen, probably proud to have made you eat something for once.

He’s lucky you don’t like to vomit or this would be worthless.

"Hi, love." You look up to see your girlfriend sitting down in front of you and you smile at her. "Is breakfast good?"

"Meh. It’s fine." You take another bite of it without tasting anything, also trying hard to not run to a trash bin. You feel her take your free hand in hers.

"Hey, if we don’t have a challenge today, do you think we cou-" She stops, running over to Duncan taking coffee at one of the counters and pointing at him. "I saw that! How could you just _steal_ a mug?"

_What? Did he steal a mug? Why? You can’t even sell it at a fair-oh, wait. A mug that multiple contestants in a reality show drank in? Yeah, he might get a lot of money for that._

"Cause it’s cool looking and I don’t have one." You take a third bite while he smirks at Courtney and walks away. " _Didn’t_ have one, that is."

He then sits down in front of you and your girlfriend joins soon after, the boy still giving her a sly smile as you send him back a weird look.

"But you might get kicked off!"

"Awn, and here I thought you didn’t care about me!"

"It’s a _mug_ , guys. It’s not like he stole something from Chris’ room." You continue to eat, Duncan slightly losing his smile as Courtney rolls her eyes.

"I don’t care. We’re two players short and I don’t wanna lose because he feels like going criminal on us."

"Pff, whatever. You dig me." You snort at that comment, shaking your head and smiling at them. Since they’ve been forced to work together on the last challenge, their fights have been less aggressive and more… funny. It looks like they’re slowly becoming friends, despite both of them being in love with you. And also even though Duncan is trying to steal you away from Courtney. Huh, life is weird sometimes.

"Ugh, why do I even bother!" Your girlfriend kisses you on the cheek before she leaves the place in anger. You look at her leaving form, a little dumbfounded by the sudden kiss.

"Um…" You look back at Duncan to see him take a sip of his black coffee. "I think you upset her."

He puts his coffee down and looks at you for a short while… before he smirks again.

"I think I did it on purpose to have you to myself." You roll your eyes at him and sigh in annoyance, looking elsewhere.

"You’re anno-" You stop talking when his hand comes to brush away the hair in your face, his thumb delicately caressing your cheek right after. You blush madly, the heat on your face going worse when he goes to take a hold of your jaw, turning your head slightly so you’re completely facing him.

" _You know, sugar, if we were alone right now-_ " You watch him lick his lips and look at you with a strange glint in his blue eyes. " _-I would do things to you that would make you leave her instantly._ "

"I told you to stop it." You take his wrist in your hand to put his hand away from your blushing face and down on the table, having a lot of difficulties to calm down your pounding heart. "I’m not gonna leave Courtney for you, stop making me repeat myself."

You see him chuckle and he intertwines his fingers with yours, trapping the hand you used to push his away.

"Your face is telling a different story every time you say those words, sweetheart. How do I know which one I have to listen to?"

"Sh-shut up! Leave my face out of this! And let go of my hand!"

"No can do, honey." He squeezes your hand and takes another sip of his coffee, still smirking at your reactions. "I’m gonna enjoy every single moment I get with you, even if you try to make me believe you don’t want me too."

"I hate you."

"Love you too, (Y/N)." His smirk grows when you start to grunt in annoyance. "See? Different stories. It’s not my fault you can’t control your reactions. "

You simply continue to eat in silence, your other hand still trap as you grumble some words under your breath.

* * *

"So, last week challenge exposed a few Gopher issues… and I’m sensing something a little funky floating in the Bass pound too…"

Courtney pushes Duncan violently away from you, smirking down at him and taking your hand in hers. He gets up from the ground and growls, putting his arm around your shoulders and giving her back her evil glare. You feel the tension rise around you and you sigh, Chris chuckling at the whole scene.

"This week’s challenge is centered around building trust. Because all good things begin with a little trust! There will be three major challenges that will need to be completed by two or more members of your team!" You hear both of your love interests grunt at Chris’ words. "Normally, we like to have the campers choose their partners, but not this time! More fun for me!"

_Why do I feel like this is going to be a very bad idea?_

"Okay. So, for the first challenge, you’ll be doing an extreme freehand rock climbing adventure! (Y/N) and Duncan will be playing for the Bass… Heather and Gwen for the Gophers."

You smile slightly. If Heather and Gwen have to work together, you and Duncan are going to win this challenge easily, even if you would have preferred to be with someone else.

"Here’s your belay and harness." Chris proceeds to throw the equipment to the four of you. Duncan catches it with a smile.

"So, what do you wanna do, sugar?"

You sigh and look at all the rocks you have to climb. "I guess I’ll climb, no big deal."

"Wait, no!" Courtney whispers angrily and turns to Duncan. "You’re gonna drop her!"

"He won’t be able to drop her _exactly_." You turn your attention back to Chris. "One partner pulls the slack through the belay as their partner climbs. If the partner falls, the belay will stop them from crashing. The catch: both the side and the base of the mountain are rigged with a few minor distractions like… rusty nails, slippery oil slicks, mild explosives and… a few other surprises."

"Wicked!" You smack Harold in the back of his head. "Ow! Sorry (Y/N), hope you stay safe out there."

"That’s better." You cross your arms at him and pout.

"The person on belay must also harness their partner up. It’s all about trust, people… and remember! Never let go of the rope! Your partner’s life depends on it!"

"You just said we can’t crash!" You scream at Chris and he only smiles more.

" _Oh, did I now?_ "

"Ugh!"

* * *

You’re waiting patiently for Duncan to finish putting the equipment on you as Courtney supervise everything. While you trust him to not let you die, she doesn’t think he’s up for the challenge and has to stop herself to not equip you herself.

"Has anyone of you tried this before?" You suddenly got your anxiety kicking in, the panic grabbing your heart in one second.

"Oh, _yeah_. They teach you how to climb walls in prison _all_ the time."

"It’s not funny, Duncan!" You only hear him laugh, suddenly stopping after a while. Curious, you look down, only to see that Bunny is in your pocket.

"Aw, I’m sorry little bunny, but you can’t come with mommy." You take Bunny in your hands and hand him to DJ. "You’ll have to stay with your dad for this challenge, okay?"

"Mommy? Dad?" Everyone in your team looks between you and DJ with a confused expression.

"Yeah, since we both love Bunny so much, we decided to share the little guy." DJ answer them as he pets your shared rabbit. "I think he just wants to go take a walk in the forest."

The big guy is about to leave you there when Courtney stops him.

"Oh no! You’re staying! If this punk idiot is about to let my sweet (Y/N) crash, I want you here to help him."

"Calm down, princess, I’m not gonna drop her."

"Shut up! You don’t know that!"

You and DJ both shared a look and sigh in annoyance. That’s when Geoff proposes to take care of the little guy and you both gladly accept, watching him leave in the forest with Bunny. You smile shakily at the rocks.

"Guess I’m climbing now."

* * *

You’re in the middle of climbing the rocks when you see Gwen go ahead of you. You frown, wondering how she can move that fast. That’s when you see an explosion propel her off the cliff and you watch her fall down a few meters, Heather finally stopping her from crashing after a few seconds. You start climbing again... a little more cautious this time.

You then hear Gwen scream and crash, you looking down again to see that Heather got sprayed by Chris with some red sauce. Your heart starts pounding again when you see him about to spray Duncan, only to see your punk friend happily swallow the sauce without letting go of the ropes. He’s also having red glasses on? Why?

" _Is that the best you can do?_ " You laugh when you hear Duncan’s comment and he sends you a thumbs up, encouraging you to continue climbing… which you gladly do and, later, when you’re almost done and having some difficulties to finish, you see Gwen overtake you in the climb again. How did she climb that fast, seriously!?

"Hey, Gwen! You don’t want to fall... _behind_!"

You don’t even have time to process what Heather’s saying that Gwen’s shorts are suddenly in your face, obstructing your view. You hear her scream, some nasty comments from the remaining boys down there coming to your ears. Angry at Heather for doing a bitchy thing again, you take the shorts off of your face and do your best to not look at Gwen’s butt.

"Here, Gwen." You hand her the shorts and she smiles at you. She’s about to thank you when your hands slip and you fall, the girl trying to take a hold of your arms instead.

Sadly, she didn’t succeed.

_Fucking oil._

You scream when you fall, the panic replacing the blood in your body. You hope Duncan or even DJ stop you from crashing, but you keep falling and falling. No one had the time to react when you fell, which means that Duncan had let go of the rope without wanting too. Luckily, his feet got stuck in the rope and he’s now up in the air, stopping you from crashing by balancing your weight with his.

That also means you’re both stuck up there and can’t win the challenge.

"Arg, this bite." You sigh when you hear him talk.

"It sucks, yeah."

" _Looks like the Gophers have won the first challenge!_ "

You grunt as Duncan looks down (or is it up now?) at the people, not seeing anyone taking initiatives to help you... Except maybe Courtney, but she’s just screaming at Chris to get you down.

"Looks like they’re not helping us until a few moments."

"Well, fuck." You don’t see him start to smirk.

"That’s too far to do in public if you’re asking." You roll your eyes at him. "I can make out with you, though. Courtney can’t punch me from here."

You blush when you hear this.

"N-no! J-just wait!" He laughs at you, simply grabbing one of your sleeves and bringing you towards him.

Since you’re totally upside down, you can’t act properly with the new gravity on your head, which means you can’t think. That also means you can’t stop him from putting his arm around your waist and kissing you right there, the world disappearing from your mind again.

_Damn, this feels so good._

" _ **Duncan! Get your hands off my girlfriend or I’m gonna kill you when you come down!**_ "

Thankfully, Courtney’s voice brings you back to reality and you push him away from you, blushing and grumbling all over again. He laughs at your reaction and waves at Courtney, who keeps screaming insults at him and trying to force Chris to do something about the situation.

"Why do you keep doing things like that?!"

"I told you. Your face always tells something different."

Ugh, you’ll just keep pushing him away until they get both of you down.

* * *

And here you are! After Courtney tried to kill Duncan for about an hour, both of them also trying to give you some love in the process, the three of you learn that Bridgette and Geoff have won the second challenge.

You also learned that Trent almost died.

"Isn’t it the second challenge where he has to go to the infirmary?" Bridgette gives you a sad smile and nods. "Woah, this guy has some really bad luck."

"I personally know a guy that _will_ go to the infirmary for a **very long time** if he doesn’t stop kissing _**my**_ girlfriend!"

"Hey, guys!" Geoff stops Courtney from jumping on your punk friend, who’s still smirking at her victoriously. "We need to go to the next challenge. Chris sent us to get you."

"Ugh, fine. Let’s go." Your girlfriend takes your hand in hers and drags you along with her, your two blond friends following you. You take a look back to see Duncan waving at you, not moving a little.

Guess he’s not coming.

* * *

"Good news! The third round involves three more challenges! It’s the three blind challenges! It begins with the blind William Tell followed by the blind trapeze combined with the treacherous blind toboggan."

"So, where’s our Bunny?" You turn to see DJ talk to Geoff about your little pet. "I miss him."

"Yeah, me too." You give him a suspicious look when you watch his expression change to a worried one.

"Huh, Bunny? I-I’ll go get him!" He then leaves and Bridgette gives him a scared look. You put your hand on her shoulder and she jumps up.

"Why are you worried?" She gives you a fake smile.

"I-I’m not worried! What makes you say that?"

"Like legendary marks William Tell, you’ll be knocking arrows off your partner’s head with crab apples!" You turn your attention back to Chris, who has put an arrow on DJ’s head to show an example.

"Hum… isn’t it the other way around?" You nod to show that you agree with what Courtney is saying.

"Shhh, hush! Also! The shooter will be blindfolded!" You all gasp and take a few steps back from DJ as Chris puts on the blindfold. "The person who knocks off the arrow without causing the least of facial damage wins!"

The host proceeds to shoot the apple at DJ, who receives it right in his parts. The big guy exhales in pain and bends over, almost crying.

"Ah, nuts!"

"Not a great pun, Chris!" He gives you a mean look and you smile back at him. It’s been a while since you’ve said a nasty comment to him, this feels good.

"Leshawna and Owen, you’ll be one team. Courtney and Sadie, you’ll be the other."

_Wait, Courtney? What if she gets hurt-_

"I’m violently allergic to apples!" You punch Harold again. "Ow!"

"Good thing you’re not gonna throw them or get hit by them, then!" He rolls his eyes at you and walks away.

"Ooooh, let _me_ shoot! I’m a good shot!" You give Sadie a worried look and your girlfriend sighs, already annoyed by this challenge.

"You better be."

"Please don’t hurt my Courtney." You take Sadie’s hands in yours. "Promise me that you won’t."

"Awn, honey! Don’t worry, I’ll be fine." Courtney kisses you on the cheek and you let go of Sadie’s hands, still worried about this challenge.

"Okay, let’s _rock and roll!_ "

As blindfolded Sadie keeps hitting your girlfriend with apples, the worry takes over your mind. Your teammates have to stop you from running over and take care of Courtney, your whole mind screaming at you to help her… You have to calm down. Leshawna just won, surely it’s over now!

But Sadie keeps throwing apples.

"I got her _this_ time!"

"Leshawna won already!"

"Hey, Einstein, it’s over- OW!"

"SADIE STOP!" You scream that part while Chris runs over to Sadie, taking a hold of her shoulders and shaking her.

"Sadie! It’s over, man! Let it go!"

"Oopsie!" She smiles and takes off the blindfold. "Sorry."

"You’re… getting… down…." You watch your girlfriend fall down on the ground, already unconscious.

"Courtney!" You run over to her and take her in your arms, checking if she’s still breathing. "Courtney!"

Chris sighs and turns to the crew. "Put her in the infirmary, I guess."

* * *

You’re sitting on a chair beside Courtney, still unconscious. You see Chef with a nurse costume on the other side, trying to feed a dying Trent.

"Is Trent all right?" Chef only nods at you before continuing to feed him. "Why are you feeding him?"

"Because he needs to eat." He turns his head at you and gives you a hard look. "Have _you_ eaten, lady? Don’t lie or I’ll force-feed you."

"… No, I haven’t." He throws you a yogurt package and a spoon that you almost don’t catch. You reluctantly open it and start to eat… You don’t want to go to that _place_ Chef’s been talking about.

"I can’t believe I trusted that little-" You hear some kind of zapping sound and look out the tent to see Heather with a jellyfish on her head. "Ow! Nasty stingy jellyfish- Ow!"

You smile at the sight and continue to eat your yogurt as she sits down on the bed beside Courtney’s. Almost instantly, your girlfriend wakes up, completely confused. It doesn’t stop your heart pounding happily.

"What? Where am I?" You smile at your girlfriend and take her hand in yours.

"You’re in the infirmary." Heather responds before you can open your mouth and you give her a mean look. "Got anything for removing jellyfish?"

She falls on the bed with a thud when she gets confirmation from Chef, making both you and Courtney look at her direction. That’s when you see Duncan walking by with a carrot, trying to attract a bunny.

"What’s Duncan doing with a rabbit?" Your girlfriend looks back at you with an even more confused look, almost expecting you to have an answer.

"I have no idea." You look out again to see that he’s no longer there. "Let’s go find out."

You both get up and you help your girlfriend walk in the direction where you last saw him go. That’s how you arrive at the last challenge’s position, your punk friend nowhere to be found. You both decide that you’ll give attention to Chris instead.

"And now, the final length. The blind toboggan race."

"They say, what?" You frown at Leshawna’s question. Haven’t they guessed that all the challenges will be blindfolded?

"Each team will have a driver and a navigator. The driver steers while the navigator shouts actions. Oh yeah! And the driver will be blindfolded!" They all gasps at Chris and you roll your eyes, not believing that they haven’t guessed that yet. "Not many of you left, huh. Keep losing, you guys, aha! Oh well, huh…. Gwen and Leshawna…. Geoff and DJ."

You then notice that DJ’s sad, his eyes red from crying.

"DJ? What’s happening?" He looks up at you and tears start to come up in his eyes again.

"It-it’s Bunny… he… he left us." You feel your heart squeezes in pain and tears come up in your eyes too.

"What? Wh-what do you mean, he left us? I thought he liked to be with us!"

"Geoff said he ran up in a path and never came back." You look back at Geoff while crying.

"Is that... true?" He opens his mouth to answer you, but he closes it and looks elsewhere, himself and DJ leaving right after to do the challenge. You start to cry in Courtney’s arms, your girlfriend trying her best to make you feel better.

Hopefully, your little Bunny is happy in his forest.

* * *

You’re too sad to focus on the race at the moment, Courtney still caressing your back and telling you sweet things.

"Hey DJ! Look what I found!" You look aside to see Duncan open his hands to show a bunny.

_Wait, is that...?_

"Bunny!" You scream that part and run over to Duncan, tears swelling up in your eyes again. "You found our precious Bunny!"

Duncan smiles at you as you hug the new rabbit he found. When he heard Geoff tell DJ what happened, he knew you’d be sad and upset. So that’s why he decided to go and found another one, just to see you smile again. Courtney crosses her arms and smile, not feeling mad for what he did. He made you happy again, that’s all that matters.

You stop petting Bunny number two when you hear an explosion, looking at the mountain to see Geoff and DJ trying to avoid multiple explosions. You gasp when you see them get up in the air from one of them, worried taking over you again. You ignore the cheering of the remaining Gophers as Gwen and Leshawna are coming to the finish line fast... But when you see both of your teammates crashing safely right on the finish line, you take a moment to process that you’ve just won the last challenge, cheering with the rest of your teammates right after.

"Bunny!" DJ takes off his blindfold and runs over to you to take the rabbit from your hands and spin around happily, finally settling down to hug him and cry. "T-thanks, Duncan. You’re the best."

"Yes, you are!" You hug your punk friend and start to cry again, from joy this time. "I can never thank you enough for this."

"Pff! Y-yeah. Whatever, man! It’s just a stupid rabbit." He blushes slightly as he feels you crush him, looking elsewhere. "I-it’s not like I did it for you or anything like that."

"Yeah, _sure_." You get off of him and give him a smirk before you leave him there, going back to DJ so that both of you can pet your new Bunny. Duncan rolls his eyes at the sight of you… then smile, unaware of Courtney’s figure creeping up behind him.

"I can’t believe you found a new Bunny for (Y/N) and DJ!" Her voice makes him jump up in the air. "You’re a good guy!"

He looks back at her with a dumbfounded expression, crossing his arms on his chest. "What? No, I’m not."

"You are! You’re actually nice! That’s why she must like you!"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about. There must be a lot of reasons why she must like me that isn’t that "nice" quality."

"Uh-uh. I saw you do it, Duncan." She points at him and gives him a bright smile.

"Whatever! He wouldn’t leave me alone, that weird rabbit!" He looks at her again to see that she’s smirking at him. "Ugh, okay, fine! I did it! Are you happy now? I didn’t wanna see either of them sad. Especially her."

"Hm-hm."

"Listen, don’t tell anybody, okay? I don’t want them to think I’m soft or anything."

" **Oh.** **Your secret is safe with me.** " The tone of her voice makes him look around, suddenly aware that he just admitted this in front of cameras.

* * *

"I’m _not_ nice, okay?" Duncan points at the camera with his crazy and threatening eyes. "It’s just to set the record straight."

A few seconds pass before his face softens.

"It was nice to see her smile again, though." His eyes open wide and he looks at the camera again. "I’m telling you, I’m _not_ nice!"

* * *

"And the Bass are the winner of the toboggan race!" You all cheer, Chris’ smirk stretching out at the sight. "But unfortunately, I said that these were blind challenges... By taking off the blindfold for a moment, you broke the number one rule."

You all stop your cheering and subtly look at each other.

"Which makes the Gophers today the big winner!"

"Awn, man!" You put your arms down and crosses them over your chest. "This was going so well."

* * *

You’re sitting down beside Courtney at the campfire, which makes you feel weird. The last time you were there, you didn’t even have a girlfriend and now, you do! … Plus, a non-secret lover that keeps wanting to get killed by Courtney… but let’s not talk about the details.

"Who wants a treat? A tasty goodie that represents exemption, security, peace of mind-"

"Ugh, just get on with it!"

"Andifyoudon’tgetamarshmallowyouhavetowalkthedockofshameandyoucannevercomeback. Ever!"

You roll your eyes at Chris’ behavior, casually waiting for this to be over.

"Let’s see." Chris looks at the marshmallows on his plate. "One for Duncan, one for Bridgette, one for Courtney…. One for (Y/N)!"

He throws the marshmallows at you all, your teammates instantly chewing them. You look down at your marshmallow, not wanting to eat it. You’ve eaten so much today… you don’t think you can handle this… but you hear a slight scoff and look up to see Chris giving you a hard look. You sigh and start to eat the marshmallow, making him nod and smile again.

"DJ, Geoff. Well done, my brothers!" He throws two other marshmallows and looks at the remaining teammates. "Looks like we only have one left. Sadie and Harold, the final marshmallow!"

You wait for Chris to say who’s having the last marshmallow...

"Come on, already!"

"Don’t rush me! The audience eats up this kind of dramatic conclusion!" You quirked an eyebrow at him as your girlfriend sighs, Chris finally throwing the last marshmallow. "Harold."

Your little brother by heart smiles and Sadie starts to get angry.

"You know what? That’s fine with me, you…" She gets up and looks at all of you. "You marshmallow eating freaks!"

She then runs to the dock of shame while crying. Your girlfriend waves at Sadie’s leaving form, not even bothering to hide her anger towards her.

"The rest of you are safe… for now."

"Why do you always feel like you need to repeat that? Do you have memory loss or something?"

"(Y/N), stop! I thought we were finally getting along!" You smirk at his exhausting expression.

" _Oh, did we now?_ "

His annoyed face instantly makes you happier.

* * *

You’re using the shower, feeling the hot water wash away all of your problems as you exhale your anxiety of the day. You hear someone step inside the communal bathrooms, opening your eyes and looking back at your closed shower door to see feet walking around.

"Who’s there?"

"It’s just me, honey." You breathe out again, relieved to hear your girlfriend speak. "Are you gonna finish soon? I need to take a shower too."

"Actually, I just started." You hear her grunt and sit down on the counter, probably waiting for you to finish.

"You mind if I wait here? I don’t want to go back to the cabins." You chuckle and start to wash your hair with shampoo.

"Nah, I don’t mind."

"Good." You hear her sighs through the sound of the water hitting the floor. "I hope you’re not one of these girls that takes an hour to shower."

"Well, you can always join me." You put your hands on your mouth, but it’s too late, you already said it. You wait for her to respond, the silence only greeting you.

"W-what did you just say?" You smirk when you hear her stutter like she’s embarrassed or something. You would love to see her face at the moment.

"I said that you can always join me." There’s confidence in your voice, finishing rinsing the shampoo out of your hair. There’s another silence where you continue to wash, wondering if you might have taken it too far. Maybe she wants to wait... maybe she’s not comfortable...

Maybe you just screwed up your relationship.

"Are you okay with that?" Her question takes you off guard, but you decide to think about it seriously.

"Well, yeah." You pause before opening your mouth. "I feel like I’m ready. If you’re not, that’s fine, though."

"No, I’m ready. J-just… Just wait for a second!"

You hear her get off the counter and go to the communal bathroom door, locking it. Your smirk grows, feeling your heart pound louder and louder. You stretch your arm behind you to unlock the shower door, trying to not laugh when you hear Courtney almost trip on her clothes. You like that she’s much more nervous than you, it makes you feel a little better about the situation.

You put your hands through your wet hair, enjoying the feeling of the warm water when the door open and close behind you. You feel her eyes set on your naked form and you move your hands on your neck before breathing out.

"Wow." You move your head slightly to be able to see her, smiling sweetly when her beauty hits you whole. You watch her eyes eats you up, blushing slightly when she finally looks at you in the eyes.

"What is it?" She smiles and comes up to you, embracing you with her arms and kissing your temple.

"You’re beautiful, that’s all." Your heart skips a beat at her words and you turn around, putting your arms around her neck and giving her a small kiss.

"I could say the same for you, you know." It’s her turn to chuckle at your words before she captures your lips, moving her hands slowly on your back as your bodies get closer. You feel her hands go down your body and you growl, not wanting to ever let her go. She separates from you for a moment and you look deep into her black eyes, her freckles popping even more than before.

"You’re okay with this?" You stop her from worrying too much by kissing her lips for a few seconds.

"Couldn’t be more fine, sweetie."

And that’s how you continue your night with Courtney, the rest of it up to you and you only.


	13. TDI: Basic Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Chef is taking the lead today. Will you survive his little challenges? And what's those secrets Courtney and Duncan are hiding from you?

**Chapter Twelve: Basic Training**

You’re sitting on the stairs of the Bass’ cabins beside Geoff, reading one of your novels as you hear Duncan graving something on the wall behind you. You decide to look and get surprised by how great the skull he made looks. You’re about to compliment him when the boys’ door open, revealing a pissed off Harold.

"Okay. Who’s made smores out of my underwear!? "

You roll your eyes in annoyance when you see the two boys laugh at Harold, both sharing a look and smirking proudly. Harold takes out one of his underwear from the dessert and throws it on the ground just in front of a walking Courtney, the brown-haired girl screaming before sending a glare to the teenager.

"Ugh! Harold! You are so totally gross! " Your girlfriend proceeds to walk away with a pissed off face, Harold giving her a terrified expression.

"No, wait! It wasn’t me! " He looks back at the other two boys and sends them a glare. "Idiots! "

The boy then returns into the cabin and shuts the door.

"Sometimes, he just makes it too easy! " Geoff and Duncan laugh as you roll your eyes again, closing your book.

"I hear you, man. " Geoff and Duncan laugh as you roll your eyes again, closing your book and standing up.

"You guys have nothing else to do for fun? " Geoff shakes his head with a small smile to answer you, but Duncan only grins.

"Well, I have a few ideas that you could help me with…"

You groan in annoyance as his smirk grows wider, Geoff laughing again The deviant boy is about to tell you something else when you hear Chef’s voice.

" _Listen up, you little cockroaches! I want all campers to report to the dock of shame!_ "

The three of you share a confused look, not knowing where Chef is… And why is Chef talking to you guys instead of Chris? Do you have to listen to him?

" _That means now, soldiers, now!_ "

You drop your book on the steps and run over to the dock of shame, Geoff and Duncan following you close behind with panic faces.

* * *

You’re all standing on the dock of shame in pure silence as Chef walks in front of you, wearing his soldier attire. In the heat of the moment, you got yourself stuck between Duncan and your girlfriend... but neither of them tries to fight for your attention due to the atmosphere. The big guy gets out a megaphone and talks in it.

" _Line up and stand in attention! You call this proper formation?_ " Chef hits Geoff’s leg and the guy scream. " _Feet together! Arms down! Head forward! Head’s up!_ "

You straighten yourself up in fear as you watch the ex-soldier hit Harold multiple times, probably for not following any of Chef’s demands. He turns around and gives her furious eyes at Gwen, who has been whispering something in Trent’s ear.

"What did you say to me, soldier?!"

"Um…." She starts to think in fear. "… nothing? "

"And you’ll continue to say nothing until I tell you that you can say something! " He turns around again, continuing to walk in front of all of you. "Today’s challenge will not be an easy one. In fact, I don’t expect anyone to come out alive."

Owen laughs but screams when Chef hits his back.

"Ow! That hurt! "

"My board is out to make sure that all the babies in front of me drop out of my boot camp except one. The last one standing wins immunity for their team. "

"Uh…." You give Heather a side look, wondering what she’s going to say now. "What happened to Chris? "

That’s a very good question.

"Rule number one! You’re gonna address me…" Even with his glasses on, you can see that he’s having difficulty to take care of today’s challenge. "… as Master Chief! Have you got that? "

"Yes, Master Chief! " You say that part with everyone, fearing for your own life.

"You will sleep when I tell you to sleep. " He stops walking in front of you in particular and looks at you in the eyes. "And you will only eat when I tell you to eat! Is that clear? "

"Yes, Master Chief! " You stop yourself from making a weird face when he gives you an apple, starting to eat it reluctantly as others grunt in jealousy.

"Rule number two! When you are ready to give up, you will walk to the end of the dock and ring the bell! " He points to a golden bell, all of you staring at it and silently asking yourselves where it came from. "Which brings me to rule number three! If we don’t get one quitter before the end of the first day, well that day will not end until someone drops out! Now get your butts down to the beach, soldiers! Now! Now! Now! "

You all scream and run away, yourself almost choking on the apple you’re eating.

* * *

Now you’re all standing in line at the beach, yourself still trap between Courtney and Duncan as all of you look at Chef pointing at two canoes in front of him, now talking without his megaphone.

"Listen up! Each team must hold a canoe over their heads! I caught you taking your hands off the canoe, and you will be eliminated! And no one eats lunch until someone drops out! "

While everyone feels dreadful about not being able to eat lunch soon, you kind of feel relieved. That must be why Chef gave you this apple earlier, he knew you wouldn’t be able to eat in a while and wanted to be sure that you don’t drop dead… but if you manage to motivate the teams to never give up, you might not eat all day!

_I shouldn’t think like that. What’s wrong with me?_

That’s the kind of thoughts you have as you and the others take the canoes up in the air, not noticing who you’re stuck between.

"Pff! This isn’t that hard! " You look at the other team to see Owen smile wildly.

"Piece of cake!" Geoff says that right in front of you, making you notice that you’re between him and Duncan. Your girlfriend is standing two people in front of you while Bridgette stands right behind Duncan. You sigh. You’re pretty sure your punk friend is going to try something. Hopefully, your best friend will help you if he goes too far.

* * *

It’s hours later now, the teams starting to get hungry and pretty tired. You see your girlfriend grunt in pain, having difficulties to hold the canoe up. You wish you could give her comfort, but you can’t take your hands off the canoe… Dang it!

"Come on, you sissies! It’s only been three hours!"

You growl at Chef, stopping yourself from saying a comment. The man has been sitting on the canoe your team’s holding while Chris is sitting on the other. Apparently, the guy is just taking a break from hosting today’s challenge, having some other projects to do at the side. Something about a small role in a movie or something? Meh, don’t care. You just think it’s unfair that they are both sitting on the canoes, the ex-soldier being way heavier than the psychopath.

"Looks like they miss lunch today! " You detect a small tone in Chris’ voice, looking up at him and noticing him giving you a long look.

"Hm-hm. Guess they just weren’t hungry! Unless someone wants to quit now?" You feel like Chef’s question is directed at you and Chris smiles, both probably wanting you to quit the challenge so they can feed you without raising any suspicion. You give the host a hard look and smirk.

"Nah, we’re good." You watch Chris lose his smile with satisfaction. "We’re gonna hold this canoe up until we win this challenge. "

You ignore the two adults’ glare, feeling proud to have destroyed their little plan of making you eat. You turn your attention back to Geoff, noticing that he’s trying to take Harold’s underwear out with a fishing rod.

Wait … how did he get that fishing rod?

"Time to land that fish!" Duncan leans his face beside yours and smirks. You don’t even have time to warn Harold that the blond already snaps his underwear in half.

" _Ow! Idiots!_ " Harold puts his hands back up on the canoe, Chef looking down.

"Is there a problem down here?" Harold shakes his head and the ex-soldier goes back up. You sigh in annoyance at your two guy friends, not understanding why they’re still bothering your brother by heart.

You look behind you to send Duncan a glare, but he takes the opportunity to kiss you. You pull away fast and look in front of you with a small blush, the punk guy chuckling at your reaction and kissing your cheek. He’s about to whisper in your ear when Bridgette kicks him in the leg, making him slightly scream in surprise and stop what he’s doing. You smile, sensing your best friend good vibes around you.

You’re so glad she’s here to protect you.

* * *

It’s night time and you’re all still in the same position, a fire glowing beside you as you hear Owen snore. You’ll never understand how the guy can sleep while doing specific things… like holding a canoe up. Seriously, is he even human?

I should also add that you’ve been listening to Chef telling one of his stories, the ex-soldier sitting down on a wooden seat beside your team.

"Twenty-five of us went into the jungle that night." He takes a pause and gives you all an intense look. "Only five came back out."

You give him an empathetic smile, imagining the horrible things he must have faced in his life before.

"What war were you in any way?" You’re surprised to hear Gwen talk. Maybe you weren’t the only one listening.

"Did I asked you to speak!? Cause I don’t remember asking you to speak!"

"Whatever. He so wasn’t in a war." The ex-soldier send a glare to the goth girl.

" _Guys..._ " You all look at the Gophers’ team, watching Lindsay put her arms down and sighing in pain. " _...I can’t do this anymore…. I have no more feeling in my arms!_ "

She slowly walks away towards the dock of shame, Chef smiling proudly as the Gophers makes sad faces.

"Looks like we got ourselves a quitter!"

" _Don’t do it, Lindsay…!_ "

You can’t help but silently agreed with Owen’s plea. If she rings the bell, Chris and Chef will force you to eat… You don’t want to eat! Even if it’s for your good! But the girl rings the bell with her head, all the members of your team throwing the canoe away with victorious smiles.

"As for the rest of you, in the lodge hall! Dinner is served!"

Guess you don’t have a choice now.

* * *

You’re standing beside a table, Courtney and your best friend not too far away from you. The rest of your team are spreading around the table, all of them looking back at Chef and Chris standing between the two teams.

"Alright, Maggots! Open your ears! You’ve got ten minutes to eat before night training begin, so get to it! "

You sigh and everyone screams in disbelief, not wanting to work again in such a short time notice. You see Duncan simply shaking his head, the others complaining out loud.

"Huh, excuse me, Master Chief? Where’s the food? " Gwen gives the two adults a suspicious look. The two of them only smirks while the ex-soldier shows garbage cans.

"You’re looking at it. " He chuckles darkly as Owen comes and open one.

"This is the leftover garbage from this morning’s breakfast. "

"Done right! When you’re at war, you take what you can get! "

Your girlfriend leaves your side and goes to the garbage cans with the others, you simply staying behind. You’re not even moving a little to try and find a small piece of good food. If you’re gonna eat something, it’s gonna be something that you like. You look at the two adults to see them glare at you, making you smile.

"Well, I can see you got this under control. " Chris looks at Chef while they walk. "I’m off to craft services, coming? "

"Serve me up some of that! " As they pass beside you, Chris takes out a plastic bag full of vegetables from his pocket and shoves it in your hands, sending you a look that clearly says that you have to eat this. That must have been what they’ve prepared for you earlier when they wanted you to give up the challenge. You grunt in annoyance and open the bag, starting to eat in front of the leaving adults. Somehow, none of the teenagers has noticed what happened and they’re simply continuing to search through the trash.

"Ugh! I’m not eating that! " You almost smile at Heather’s outburst, chowing down on a carrot. You watch your girlfriend throw something on the ground, also not quite happy about her future meal.

"Me neither! "

"Don’t care for today’s special, princess? " You watch Duncan pass in front of Courtney with a glass full of some liquid in it. You quirk an eyebrow at that and starts to walk over.

"I’m going to be running for office one day, and no one is going to pull up a file of me eating _garbage_! " She crosses her arms on her chest and sends the punk guy an irritable look.

"Of course not, honey. " You smile sweetly at her while hugging her from behind, the brown-haired girl smiling back and resting her head against yours. You show her the bag of vegetables Chris gave you. "I find this, wanna share with me? "

"I swear, you’re the best. " She immediately takes a carrot from the bag and starts to eat it. Your smile stretches out; guess you find a hole in the psychopath’s plan.

"That’s not juice! " Both of you turn your attention to Harold, who just drank the glass Duncan was walking with. Speaking of him, he’s currently laughing at your brother by heart along with Geoff.

"Oh, my mistake, dude! We must have confused it with the kitchen grease! " When she hears Duncan’s words, your girlfriend takes your hand and walks rapidly to the three boys.

"You guys are so immature! I hope you’re proud of yourselves!" The deviant guy only chuckles at the brown-haired girl’s comment.

"Okay, look. I know you like me. He knows you like me. (Y/N) knows you like me. Everyone knows it!"

_Wait, what?_

"So here’s a tip: If you want to kiss me, I might let you. "

_Whaaaaaa-_

While your brain goes completely blank, not understanding what you just heard, your girlfriend tightens her grip on your hand and she sends him a mean glare.

"And to think I actually thought you were nice! "

Duncan silently tells her to not say anything more, looking slightly at Geoff with a scarred face. You just look between your two love interests, a million questions attacking your mind at the moment and not letting you talk.

"M-me? Nice? Ah-ah! Yeah, right! "

"Why did you think that? " You hear Geoff asks that question, but you think that there’s so much more questions that are more important than this one.

"Never mind! I was wrong! He’s just as gross and annoying as he wants you to believe, and I don’t understand how in the world (Y/N) could have a thing for you. Enjoy your garbage! "

You let yourself be dragged away, your brain still blank as Courtney takes you outside with her angry steps. When you’re away from the lodge, you come back to your senses and open your mouth.

"You like Duncan? "

The brown-haired girl gasps as she stops in her tracks, letting go of your hand and turning around to give you a shocking expression.

"Hell no! I would never _ever_ like this gross and stupid guy! "

Your eyes open wide and you tilt your head, your brain realizing something.

"Oh my god! You _do_ like him! "

"No, I don’t! You’re the one who likes him! And he knows that! And I hate it because he’s always trying to take you away from me! Everyone knows you’re mine, but no one cares enough to help me stop him to get closer to you! "

She continues to ramble about how much frustration she’s feeling because of him, trying her best to make you believe that she hates him. But you know her so well already, you can see through that facade she creates.

Just like you could see through Duncan’s fake act on the first day.

"When were you going to tell me? " Your question makes her stop to talk and she sighs in annoyance, massaging her temples.

"(Y/N). I **don’t** like him. " You realize that she hasn’t admitted it yet and you give her an empathetic smile.

"Sweetheart, just let it go. "

"I don-" She sees the sadness in your eyes and she closes hers. "Fine. I might like him a little. "

"There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? " She grunts at your response and you chuckle sadly. "Do you still love me? "

She gives you an even shocker expression… before she sends you sad eyes that are still full of love.

"(Y/N), I love you more than anything. " She takes your head between her hands, not understanding why you would ever ask her that question. "I loved you from the moment we met, and I will never stop loving you. Don’t you ever doubt that. "

"I know, but… you like him. "

"It’s not like I want too! And might I remind you that you also have feelings for him?"

You chuckle sadly again as she caresses your cheek, smiling down at you. You stare at her black eyes, the beauty of them hitting you all over again before you sigh with exhaustion.

"What do we do, then? Do we talk to him? "

"Hell no! " Her face transforms into a weird grimace and you laugh at her response, not expecting that outburst. "I’m not ready to share you, yet. Plus, who knows what this guy feels? Maybe he’s just playing us. "

"I guess you’re right. " You bite your bottom lip, wondering if you do know your punk friend after all. "So… we wait? "

"That’s the best option, yeah. "

"… We’re still together, right? "

She simply holds you in her arms and kisses you deeply, making all the doubt in your mind go away with that simple gesture.

* * *

While everyone is bearing the fact that they have to dance on a piece of horrible music until someone drops out, you just keep smiling and doing the moves. You’ve always loved to dance, but your parents didn’t have enough money to keep paying you lessons, so you had to resolve into dancing alone in your room. You do know that you’ll be tired eventually... that’s why you’re not putting too much effort into the challenge. Plus, it’s quite funny to see Chef dancing with all of you.

That’s until the music stops and you all gasp in surprise, looking back at a smirking Duncan who’s simply looking up at Chef with proud.

"Duncan! What are you doing? " Your girlfriend takes your hand in hers, panic rising inside both of you because of what the punk guy just did.

"One of us drops out, we’re done for the day. " Duncan crosses his arms on his chest, clearly stating that he’s dropping out.

"We’re done when I say we’re done! Now drop and give me twenty! "

You watch your friend rolls his eyes before he starts doing the push-ups, the ex-soldier looking rather disappointed. You frown, wondering if Chef refused for Duncan to drop out because he liked the little dance you were all doing together.

"Anyone else got anything they want to say? "

"Uh, yeah! Can I go to the bathroom? "

From the smirk Chef is giving Gwen, you’re not sure she’s going to use the bathroom how she wants it.

* * *

You’re all back in the lodge and sitting at your respective tables, you specifically being in front of Duncan and beside Courtney. Your punk friend is looking rather annoyed by this whole thing, which only makes you smile. You like having Chef in charge, it’s been more fun with him here instead of Chris.

"For your next challenge, you’ll complete a three-hundred-word essay about how much you love… me. " The ex-soldier gives you all a satisfied smile before he drops it. "Anyone who falls asleep or fails to complete the challenge will be eliminated! "

He then tells you that you have two hours to complete the challenge, which you think is an excessive amount of time just to write three-hundred words. Seriously, if you don’t use double space, that’s just one page! But… three-hundred words about how much you love Chef?

Actually, you have a few ideas.

You take your pen and a sheet, and you start to write.

* * *

You’ve finished your essay after only thirty minutes, now waiting for the others. As they’re taking their sweet time to do it, you almost fall asleep, but you manage to stay awake until Chef ends the little challenge.

"Let’s see what you have here, (Y/N). " The man takes your masterpiece from your hands and starts to read it. His eyes trail down on the piece of paper and you can see tears threatening to fall behind his glasses, which makes you smile.

You didn’t just write anything to please his ego, you thought about things that you like about him. Like how you think he’s a better host than Chris, how he’s a good dancer and good teacher, how he’s very fun to be around, how he looks cool, how you admire him for serving time at war and how much you respect the guy for making you guys food… You know, stuff like that.

Anyway, when he’s done, he folds the piece of paper and put it in his pocket. Then, he looks at you, fakes a cough and tells you that you pass the challenge. You smile and watch him walk around to finally stop beside Duncan. Chef takes the punk’s paper with a proud smirk and reads it out loud, the teenager rolling his eyes at the man.

"I love Master Chief Hatchet because he’s very very very very very very very… This is just one sentence with five pages of "very" in-between! "

 _Five pages? Did he even count his words, or did he just kept writing the word_ "very" _until the time was out?_

"It’s three hundred words exactly! You can count them if you want!" You give Duncan a suspicious look. Is he serious? Uh…. You know, maybe he’s too tired to know how many words he put on those pages.

"Wipe off that drool, you little baby! " You look behind you to see Chef talking to Owen, also seeing that the ex-soldier was getting up from falling on a puddle. The man, now angry, wakes up Trent and points at a sleeping DJ.

"You two slackers are out. The rest of you, get to bed and report to the playing field at all five-hundred-hours. "

"Ah-ah. " You notice that Duncan is in front of Chef with a tissue, still smirking. "Missed a spot there, general. "

_Does he want to die?_

"What!? Do you want to run fifty laps around this camp right now!? "

"No thanks! " Courtney takes Duncan by his shoulders and pushes him behind her. "He’s going straight to bed! **Aren’t you?** "

She pushes him further away from Chef and right beside you and Geoff, you feeling your hand coming to support your chin as you yawn tiredly.

"What are you trying to do? Getting eliminated? "

"I didn’t know you cared. " He’s simply smirking at her worried expression, making you roll your eyes again. Her face instantly turns into an angry one and she seems to struggle with what to retort back.

"Dude, you’re our strongest player. If you’re gone, we’re doomed. "

"Exactly! " She sends you a relieved look and you smile at her. "And I also don’t wanna lose this challenge! So stop being such a mess-up and do what you’re told for once, okay?! "

She then storms out, leaving you alone with Geoff and Duncan. There’s a small silence before the punk guy turns to your cowboy friend.

"She digs me. " The two boys fist bump before they turn at you. "She does, doesn’t she? "

You simply snort, shaking your head with a smile at his question. Did he forget that she’s your girlfriend? The conversation you had with her comes back to your mind and you question his intentions. Maybe now is a good time to see what he really thinks?

"You’re so obsessed with that, I wonder if there’s something deeper on _your_ part. " You playfully quirk an eyebrow at him and you turn your face at your blond friend. "Geoff, you two are friends, right? Do you think Duncan has a crush on my girlfriend? "

Duncan gives you a shocked expression and his neck slightly turns pink, Geoff opening his mouth wide from your question. When the blond sees your smirk, he understands where you’re going and imitates your playful smile, both of you turning at the punk guy.

"Oooooh, I didn’t think of that…." Geoff’s smile grows wider. "You know what, (Y/N)? I think he does! "

"W-what? No, I don’t! "

"Awn, maybe _I_ should worry about Courtney being stolen from me. Was that your goal from the beginning? That is quite a plan, I must say."

Duncan hides his face behind his hands, Geoff chuckling while you hear him grunt in annoyance.

"I don’t have a crush on Courtney, alright?! " He scrubs his forehead with his eyes close, clearly not wanting to have this conversation right now. "She’s a stubborn princess who expects everything to be handed to her! I hate her!

"Hmmm… Should I believe him, Geoff? "

"Oh, I’m not sure. He does talk about her a lot."

"Goddammit! I don’t like Courtney, okay!? _I like you!_ "

The punk guy slams his hands on the table, his face getting close to yours as he stares into your eyes. You lose your smile as Geoff gets up and leaves you two, your cowboy friend also pushing the remaining people to leave the lodge and go to sleep. As you hear all of them walk away, you wait for Duncan to say something else, his hard expression making you silent. When everyone’s gone, he calms down and exhales a breath he has been holding for a while.

You’re the one who talks first.

"If you don’t like her, then why have you been flirting with her so much?"

"I haven-"

"Duncan. " Your expression gets darker. "Don’t lie to me. "

There’s an annoyed sigh from his part and he closes his eyes, rubbing his face with one of his hand as you tilt your head and patiently wait for him to answer.

"I… Well, she’s not _that_ bad, you know… So maybe, sometimes, I think that…"

"You might want her? " Your question seems to take him back to reality and he’s suddenly grabbing your shoulders, a panic expression on his face.

"N-no! No, I don’t! It’s… er, it’s just a thought that comes from time to time! It’s nothing compared to how much I think about you!"

You quirk an eyebrow at him. He likes Courtney... but just like her, he’s not accepting it. So does he really like you? Well, it looks like he’s being vulnerable in front of you... and in front of cameras. You doubt he’ll do that with anyone else.

"How much do you think about me? "

You feel his grip on your shoulders loose up and he gives you a sad smile.

" _Constantly._ I can’t even stop myself. " He stares deeply into your eyes and you feel your breath stop. "You’ve always been on my mind, (Y/N). Since the first day! You can ask the guys from the team if you want, they’ll all say that I’m obsessed with you. Well… that might be a strong word... "

He chuckles and he slightly moves one of his hand to the side of your neck.

"But still, I thought I was being very clear, no? I even asked you to leave her for me. " Your heart tightens when you feel his hand grab your cheek, his thumb caressing it as he chuckles again. "Every time I look at you, I just wish you were mine instead of hers. I wish I could show you how much you mean to me. I wish I could show everyone how much you mean to me. Is it that hard to understand? "

You feel tears come into your eyes, both of his hands holding your head now. You open your mouth to say something, but the words don’t come out. Why are you suddenly feeling like this? Why is he being like this?

"I just want you so much, (Y/N). " You close your eyes when your foreheads touch, feeling his breath on your face. " _God,_ I want you so much. I **need** you."

Another sharp pain in your heart.

"Please, _please,_ be mine. " You open your eyes again, only to be drowned into his blue ones. "I need you to be mine. I know you want to. Don’t you want to be mine? "

"I… " You feel lost at words, not knowing how to express what you feel. You close your mouth, putting your hands on top of his and dragging them away from your face, the tears finally falling. "I don’t know. "

"You don’t know? " You see pain pass in his eyes and your heart shatters

"… I need to go. "

"Wait! " He takes your wrist in his hands as you try to run away, preventing you from leaving. "What do you mean, you don’t know? You don’t want me? "

"No, it’s no-" You stop yourself and shakily breathe out, refusing to look at him. "I just don’t know what to do. "

He lets you get out of his grip. You take a few steps towards the entrance before you turn back at him, the silence slowly killing you. You can’t do what he asks. You can’t choose to leave Courtney for him. You love her too much.

But you love him too.

"I need to think about it, okay? " Your words seem to bring hope back in him. "I just need to think about it. "

"That’s great! " He takes a step towards you but stops when he sees you take step back and decides to give you a sad smile instead. "Just think about it… Maybe…"

He closes his eyes and takes a breath, letting it out slowly before looking at you again.

"Maybe I’ll share you with her if.... if she’s willing to do it too. "

It’s your turn to give him a sad smile, leaving him in the lodge right after.

* * *

The next night, Courtney, Duncan, Geoff, Harold and you are standing together to face the next challenge, the five of you being the last non-eliminated people of your team. As your teammates look up at the obstacles, you look at the Gophers team to see only four members. You smile.

Maybe you’ll win this whole thing. Who knows?

"You’ll all run this course until you all complete it in under one minute. Am I making myself clear? " Chef looks down at Duncan in particular, who only playfully smile.

"Crystal. " The ex-soldier then leaves your team alone.

"If you lose this for us, I’m gonna make you so miserable! " Courtney points at the punk guy with a threatening look, but a soft sweetness kind of visible in her eyes.

You told her he likes her too. She has the hope that the three of you will find an arrangement that will make you all happy. You? Well, you do want everyone to be happy, but the stress of this situation is so intense, you just wish you could have access to a bottle of vodka right now.

"Go, Maggots, go! "

You don’t have time to think that you all running into the obstacles. You do the first one fast, getting yourself in the first position as you’re ignoring the pain you feel in your stomach and your chest. The more you run into the course, the worse you feel. You ignore the pain, you’ll worry about your health later.

That is until Chef stops all of you before you can finish the course, your eyes looking behind you to see Harold throwing up dirt on the ground. You instantly run back at the beginning, arriving just after the ex-soldier helped up your little brother by heart.

"Ring the bell and report to the infirmary! Your tour of duty is finished. " Harold walks away slowly as you settle between Duncan and Geoff.

"Wow. " Your punk friend turns at you with a smirk. "Poor guy. "

"Get back to it, soldiers, now! " You and Geoff run away to the beginning of the course to start everything over as Duncan simply stays in front of Chef. You feel your whole body scream at you to stop making any moves, death putting her hand around your heart and threatening to squeeze it at any moment. Your girlfriend notices your state and takes your muddy head in her hands, worry setting on her whole face.

"Honey, you’re alright? Maybe you should-"

"I’m fine! " You smile wildly to show that you can do the challenge, ignoring the fact that it’s your lack of food and energy that is about to kill you. "I’ll rest after the challenge. Don’t worry about me, okay? "

She doesn’t have time to tell you something else that Chef starts the race, all of you running for the second time. This time, you’re the last in line, having a lot of difficulties to face the obstacles. As you walk on the falling wall that Owen put down, you look ahead to see Heather trap at one of the obstacles, which makes you smile. You continue to walk and see Gwen down on the ground, Leshawna also getting absorbed by the mud as Duncan goes ahead.

"Falling soldier, I salute you! " His words from the distant makes you chuckle as you try to go through the hanging tires, getting on the other side slowly.

"You just bought yourself twenty more push-ups! " You look up again to see Duncan get up and give Chef a bright smile.

"Thank you! " He then proceeds to kiss the ex-soldier’s nose, making him intensely hungry. The usual panic feeling attacks your nerve and you get a shot of energy that helps you get through the rest of the obstacles faster, still doing the last of them when you hear Chef talk.

" **One-night solitary confinement…** _ **in the boathouse.**_ "

Everyone gasps while you crawl under the swinging axes, finally getting up beside Courtney, Duncan, and Geoff. Your girlfriend and the blond give the deviant boy panic looks, but the punk guy only seems bored.

"Big deal. How scary can it be? "

"Very-" You stop talking to put a hand on your chest, your heart having lots of sharp pains. "-scary. "

Your vision starts to blurry and you feel like you want to throw up, the world moving around you too fast. You close your eyes when you feel hands grab your head, recognizing the silhouette of your girlfriend for a short moment.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N), are you okay? "

"I don’t… feel-"

You blackout, your whole body falling into Courtney’s arms as everyone gets excessively worried over you. Chef simply takes you from Courtney’s arms and on his shoulder, not even bothered at all. As he walks back to the infirmary, he looks behind him to see that most of the people, including Duncan and Courtney, are following him. The man grunts at them and orders the punk guy to go to the boathouse, also prohibiting everyone to come and see you for the rest of the night. Everyone sends him a shocked look as he walks away, the ex-soldier putting out a walkie-talkie to tell Chris what just happened.

Looks like you and the host will talk.

* * *

You open your eyes to see the roof of the medical tent, asking yourself why in the world you just woke up in the infirmary.

" **Oh, look who’s awake**. "

When you see Chris’ pissed off face, everything comes back to you and you feel yourself making a weird face. If that guy’s here only to wait for you to wake up, you must be in big trouble.

"We told you to eat again or you’ll be sent away. Didn’t Chef told you that? "

"He did. " You slowly get your upper body up, feeling your bones cracking in pain. "And I did eat! A whole freaking lot! Just… just not… today… yet. "

You see the host rub his eyes in annoyance.

"(Y/N), you need to eat. " You shamelessly look down at your hands, feeling his judgmental eyes on your weak form. "Look, I don’t want to send you away. A lot of our viewers are only watching the show because you’re in it and you’re making a lot of drama here, which is awesome. Soooo, I talked to the producers and… we’re giving you one last chance, alright? But you need to eat more. And you need to eat every day. "

" _ **But I can’t do that!**_ " The words came out in a terrified voice, the host instantly giving you a hard smile.

"Oh, really? " He chuckles darkly and put his hands on his waist. "And why is that? Why are you so obsessed about not eating anything? Is it a weight thing? You wanna lose weight? "

"No, it’s not that! " You shake your head excessively. "I don’t care about weight! "

"Of course not. Your parents said you’ve been like that since you were a child. They always had to force-feed you. " Your body starts to tremble, not wanting to hear what he’s going to say next. "It’s a deeper problem, isn’t it? What is it, (Y/N)? "

"… I don’t know…"

" _What is it?_ "

"I don’t know! "

" _ **Why can’t you eat, (Y/N)?!**_ "

" **Because I don’t deserve it!** " You scream those words while grabbing your hair with your hands and curling up on yourself, the tears coming out of your eyes. "I don’t deserve to eat! I’m a worthless, incapable and shameful monster who deserves to die of starvation! She’ll only give me food when I’ll finally do something right in my horrible life! "

The words hit you in the heart, your brain not understanding where all of this is coming from. It’s like it’s coming out of far memories you’ve suppressed and can no longer remember. You let go of your hair as you look down at your hands with a shocked expression, silently asking them what’s the meaning of this. You hear a sigh and you feel a hand on your shoulder. You can’t even look at Chris.

You don’t want to see the look on his face.

"Okay, listen. " You absorb his words, keep looking at your hands. "I don’t care about any of you and I never will. But still, I’m not going to let you think that you don’t deserve to eat. "

There’s a small pause and you slightly move your head to give him a look, seeing him giving you back a serious face.

"I don’t know who that person is or why she told you those things. Maybe it’s your mother, maybe not. Anyway, I don’t care. She had no right to tell you those things. Because guess what, (Y/N)? You deserve to eat as many foods as you want and whenever you want. You’re the only who can control that aspect of your life. "

You feel yourself calm down has his words makes a way inside your masochist's brain, slowly untying the knot that’s been stopping you from eating all those years. After a few seconds, an idea pops up in your head and you give the host a playful smile.

"Well, you forgot that I can’t decide what or when to eat in here. "

He simply chuckles and steps back from you, also pointing at a plate of normal food on a table beside your bed.

"I didn’t forget. You need to eat this. " You roll your eyes in annoyance and take the plate in your hands as he laughs. "Think of it as a personal challenge. If you eat this plate, you’ll get a prize. "

You frown at him. "What prize? "

The small bottle of alcohol he gets out of his back answer your question.

"But… " You look back up at him. "Won’t you get arrested for giving alcohol to a sixteen-year-old? "

"If they found proof. " His smile stretches more. "No one’s filming here. "

That’s all you needed to hear before you eat again, this time with much more pleasure.

* * *

You’re sitting in the shadows outside of the cabins by yourself, feeling a little drunk and still drinking the bottle of vodka Chris gave you. You don’t know why he decided to give you this. Did he remember that you said you missed vodka? Or did he just thought that you needed alcohol with your love life being so complicated? You don’t know. It’s hard to guess with a psychopath.

Anyway, the only reason why you’re outside and not in the cabin right now is because you heard the two teams in there, talking and eating things that Duncan and Courtney stole together. That last piece of information made you question if something happened between them, which also made you imagine things…. which then pushed you to drink here. Outside. Alone.

Later, as you’re taking another sip of alcohol, the door swings open and you see your girlfriend run out, the girl leaning over the balustrade at the opposite of you and throwing up. Your instinct tells you to go comfort her, but you’re so sad and drunk right now that you don’t feel the strength to even get up. So, instead, you stay in the shadows and continue to drink, watching Courtney stop her sickness and turn around weakly as Duncan comes out of the cabin.

Looks like they haven’t seen you.

"So the princess has a dark side. " You slightly smile at the punk guy’s comment.

"Okay, that was so gross. " Your girlfriend smiles. "But it was like, once I did something bad, it was so much fun I just wanted more! "

_Oh yeah. That feeling is great._

"Well, you can always give me that kiss, that’ll be pretty bad. " Duncan smirks at Courtney while taking her chin in his hand, the brown-haired girl only smiling back.

You put the bottle on your lips again, watching your two supposed love interests flirt with each other. You’re not feeling jealous or anything. You don’t care, actually… but you don’t know if this situation is normal. Are you supposed to be mad? What are you supposed to do?

Courtney puts the punk guy’s hand away and pets his hair. "You’re still not my type. "

"Fine. " The deviant boy crosses his arms with the same smile. "Enjoy a peanut butter less life. "

"Thanks! " Her playful smile turns into a sweet one. "Enjoy prison! "

"I will. "

You close your eyes when they kiss, only drinking more and more. Ugh, why are you here? Why are you witnessing this? You watch them smile at each other and you notice that your bottle is almost empty. You wish you had more, but maybe having more would be a very bad idea.

"Hey, I think…" You look up at Courtney, who’s looking away with embarrassment. "I think we should talk about this with (Y/N) when she comes back from the infirmary. "

"Sure." You watch Duncan put his hands in his pocket. "How though? Have any suggestions? "

"Maybe like… proposing a three-way relationship? "

You look up at the sky when you hear him chuckle, random thoughts attacking you.

"You mean like a polygamous thing? " You hear Courtney agree and the idea floats in your brain, asking you what you think of it. "Do you think she’ll accept it?"

"I don’t know…" You look back at them when you hear her sigh. "I wish we could go see her. I’m so worried. "

"Yeah, me too. "

"It’s just… she dropped so fast! Do you think she got sick or something? "

"I think she just didn’t eat enough. "

Your heart stops, your drunk-self not believing what you’re hearing.

"Oh, so you’ve noticed too? "

"That she never eats? Of course, I did. I just didn’t know how to ask her about it. I didn’t want to upset her, you know? "

"Yeah, I know! Bridgette told me that she doesn’t like to talk about those kinds of things. She tried a couple of times with other topics, but (Y/N) always changed the subject. So she didn’t confront her and instead just… gave her some junk food she finds from time to time. "

 _Is this… why she always gives me chocolate and chips?_ _…_ _Does everyone know_ _?_

"Well, after today, I think we might need to confront her about it. "

You can’t stop yourself from chuckling and they gasp, looking back at you to see you playfully smile.

"Awwwwwn, you guys are worrying about me, that’s so sweet. " Your drunk voice makes you chuckle again, not expecting to hear you being so happy and cheerful. "But there’s no need for confrontation! Chris is forcing me to eat or else I’ll be sent to a special hospital… So no worries! I’m gonna try to eat again! "

You put your arms up in the air and softly laugh, only then noticing their panic and worried looks. Duncan opens his mouth and you only smile more.

"How long have you been he-"

"I’ve been sitting here for an hour and yes, I heard and saw everything. "

They both take a few steps towards your hiding form, Courtney being the first to notice the bottle in your hand. Her worried expression gets worse and she looks deeply into your eyes.

"Are you… are you drunk right now? "

"Nooooo…! " You answer quickly with a very shocked voice, but then you start to hiccup. "… okay, yeah, I am. "

You don’t even have time to react that Duncan’s already taking the bottle of vodka away from you while Courtney’s takes your head in her hands, looking for any drunk injuries you might have made.

"Hey! " You whine at the punk guy and try to get out of your girlfriend’s grip. "It’s mine! I haven’t finished it! Gimme it! "

"No, honey, you drank enough." You hear Courtney tell you those words, but you’re not listening to her and simply keep squirming around. That’s when Duncan gets an idea and your mouth opens wide when you see him throw the bottle in the forest. You try to get up and run towards the sound of the breaking glass, but Courtney holds you down and the punk guy turns back at you.

"My vodka! " You whine and pout more, moving around weakly. "You broke my vodka! "

"Where did you find it anyway? " Duncan crouched down in front of you and pinch your nose playfully, deciding to treat you like a child. "’cause I searched everywhere and I can guarantee that there’s none in here. "

You scrunch up your nose and stick out your tongue at him.

"I’m not telling ya! You big meanie! "

He rolls his eyes at your response and Courtney chuckles, her arms holding you from behind. The situation is quite funny because it looks like two parents trying to get their child to admit something. The punk guy quirks up an eyebrow at the brown-haired girl.

"I suppose that she’s too drunk for us to have the conversation, right? "

"Hey! I would tell you that I’m never too drunk, alright? " You point at him while frowning, Courtney laughing at your reaction again. "That was just _one_ bottle!"

"(Y/N), sweetie, can’t you hear yourself talk? " You turn your head back at your girlfriend and stick out your tongue at her this time.

"My ears are functioning properly, thank you very much. "

"Well, in that case…" You give your drunk attention back to a smirking Duncan. "Is never too drunk (Y/N) going to give us an answer? "

You squint your eyes, thinking intensely.

"You mean about that polygamous thing? " You feel Courtney’s arms tighten a little around you as Duncan loses his smile, nodding at you. "Well, yeah, sure. Why not? "

You laugh when they give you the most shocking expressions you’ve ever seen.

"Why are you guys so surprised? This is like the perfect solution. And _you_ were the ones constantly fighting, not me. "

You feel Courtney hug you more as you see Duncan’s face soften, you simply smiling brightly at them. That’s when you think you hear a gasp coming from the cabin, then someone groans in anger. You’re about to question it out loud when Chef’s voice is heard all around the camp.

"Attention remaining boot campers! The next evolution of your training begins tomorrow morning! "

* * *

It’s the next morning and you and Bridgette are sitting on the grass, looking up at Geoff, Duncan, and Courtney hanging up in a tree doing the challenge. Normally, you would have been up there with them (since you technically finished the last challenge), but since you drank a whole bottle of vodka, you woke up this morning with a horrible migraine… which disqualified you.

After you woke up, Duncan and Courtney asked you if you remembered anything from the night before. You just smiled at them and told them that you were still agreeing to the weird relationship you guys are now having, which made them sigh in relief. You smile at the memory, they’re so cute sometimes. Of course, you knew you had to tell Bridgette about all of it. She was weirded out at first, really not expecting this outcome, but she eventually smiled and congratulated you. Right now, she’s asking you a lot of questions about the whole thing, but you have to stop your conversation when you see Chef walk in front of the tree with the remaining boot campers.

"What you’re experiencing is an ancient form of torture. By now, the blood has begun rushing to your head. The next stage is nausea, followed by dizziness and a flushed appearance as it begins to pull in your eyes. You may experience-"

"Duncan! "

When you hear Courtney scream the punk guy’s name, you look back at your teammates to see your new boyfriend fall down the tree, hitting himself on the ground pretty hard and stop moving. Panic grabs your heart as you run behind Bridgette, your best friend kneeling in front of him and checking on him. She smiles at you and sends Courtney a thumbs up.

"It’s okay! He’s alright! "

You let out a breath you’ve been holding as you kneel beside them, Bridgette handing you a non-so-reacting Duncan. You stroke his hair as your teammates grab the branch they’re on and continue the challenge, silently encouraging your team.

"Okay, that’s it, I’m done. " You watch Heather get on the ground before she gets hit by Owen falling on top of her. " _Ugh!_ _Off of me, you big hocks!_ "

"Sorry…" Owen gets up from her and the fake-eyebrow girl leaves with an angry face. Courtney suddenly starts to laugh uncontrollably and you all look up at her.

"Stop laughing this instant! "

"Ah-ah! I-I’m sorry! Ah-ah-ah! I can’t help it! " She tries her best to suppress it, but she ends up falling down too, the brown-haired girl laughing quietly. That’s when you feel Duncan get out of his blank phase and you help him up, your boyfriend holding your waist to stand up and putting his head on your shoulder lovingly. You chuckle when you feel his nose tickle your neck, watching Master Chief walk to Courtney as she gets up herself.

"I expected more out of you, soldier. "

"Ah-ah, Master Chief? Ah-ah, I just have one thing to say to you. "

"And what might that be? "

"You, ah-ah, really need to, ah-ah, take a chill pill! " You hide your mouth behind your hand to suppress your laughter, feeling Duncan smile wildly on your shoulder as your girlfriend walks towards you two with a loud laugh.

"Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! " The deviant boy takes his head out of your hair and gives the ex-CIT a high five that she gladly takes, you simply shaking your head with a small smile. She puts her arms around your shoulders and gives you a kiss on the cheek, yourself now surrounded by love.

"Okay, Geoff! It’s all up to you! "

"You got this, Gwen? "

"Oh yeah. I can hang on all day. "

"Crack on, sister! I live for the head rush! And it feels… so… good…" You watch your blond friend fall on the ground, closing your eyes when he crashes.

"Oooh. " You open your eyes at your girlfriend and notices Harold walking by with a pissed off face. "That is going to leave a mark. "

"And now we have to vote someone off again."

* * *

You’re back at the campfire, sitting between your two significant others with a bright smile. Chris is standing in front of all of you with a plate of marshmallows, Chef crossing his arms behind all of you. You watch the host send you all a hard look, not having his usual fake smile.

… is something wrong?

"… I only have six marshmallows on my plate. And these marshmallows represent the campers that will continue to be… campers… here. "

You roll your eyes at the host, realizing that he’s just building the atmosphere again. That’s when you feel an arm get around your shoulders and another one grabs your waist, you smiling sweetly at your lovers. The relationship felt weird this morning... but now, you’re getting used to it. And you absolutely love it. Hopefully, it’ll last.

"You’ve all cast your ballots into the confession can. If I do not call your name, you must immediately go down to the dock of shame, catch the boat of losers and go home. And you can’t come back… ever! "

There’s a pause where you feel bad vibes coming off Harold and you send him a curious look. He’s been grumpy for a while now, why is that?

"Duncan. " Your boyfriend exclaims a victorious sound before he gets up to Chris, taking his marshmallow.

"(Y/N)."

You smile and go join Duncan, eating your marshmallow happily as he re-takes a hold of your shoulders and kiss your cheek. Soon, Chris names the others and they all follow your lead.

"DJ… Bridgette… Geoff! " You drop your smile, realizing that your girlfriend might get kicked off. Wait, no. That’s impossible. You already know that Bridgette and the boys didn’t vote for her. Now calm, you put your head in Duncan’s neck with a smile.

"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the night. " Like always, the host pauses to create suspense. "… Harold. "

Courtney gasps as you and Duncan open your mouths with shock, your other teammates soon imitating you... except for Harold, who gladly accepts his marshmallow with a smirk.

" _What!? You guys voted for Harold over me?_ " Duncan points at a walking Harold and you feel your eyes get filled with water, not believing what’s happening.

"Yes, yes... It’s always a shock. " Courtney gives Chris a mean glare.

"This is impossible! I demand a recount! "

"Me too! " You suddenly notice that you’re beside your girlfriend, putting your hands on her shoulders. "There must have been a mistake! "

"Seriously, dude! I know for a fact that they were five of us that didn’t vote her off! " You nod at Duncan’s response, Chris shaking his. The man snaps his fingers and him and Chef walk to your girlfriend with creepy smiles.

" **No!** " You try to hold her back, but they both take her arms and pull her away, walking towards the dock of shame. " _Courtney!_ "

"I do not concede! _I do not concede!_ " You feel tears fall on your face and you grab Duncan’s arm for comfort, your boyfriend sending the adults a very pissed off expression.

"Ah man, this stink! " He bites his bottom lip in anger as he watches Courtney being dragged on the boat.

"I was your only hope! I was a counselor in training! Let go of me! " You feel Duncan drag you as he runs for the dock, watching Chris and Chef throw your girlfriend on the boat. "You’re gonna hear from my attorney! "

"Courtney, wait! " You both arrive on the dock of shame as the boat slowly goes away, Courtney looking back at you with a bright smile. You feel your heart squeeze in pain, Duncan getting something out of his pocket before he throws it across the water.

"I made something for you! " Your girlfriend catches his gift happily, your brain sending you a glimpse of it and making you smile.

"Duncan! " She looks down at it and loses her smile. "Okay, this is really weird and creepy but… I love it! I’ll never forget you! "

"Courtney, I love you! " You scream that with all your strength as her smile shines.

"I love you too, (Y/N)! I’ll wait for you two! "

You wave, knowing deep down that this might be the last time you see her for a long time. You feel Duncan hug you and you turn around to put your arms around him, letting your sadness out as you cry. He strokes your back, whispering sweet things in your ear.

"Hey, it’s okay. We’ll see her again, don’t you worry. " You put your head out of his chest and he wipes away the tears on your face, finally smiling at you. "Hey, you know what? I also made something for you. "

You chuckle when he gives you a skull, the wooden thing having small designs carved on it. You wipe more tears away from your face and give him a bright smile.

"Thank you. " You hug him again and you feel him put his head on top of yours, the deviant boy inhaling the scent in your hair. "I didn’t know you could be this sweet. "

"Yeah, well, only with special people. " You chuckle again and look up at him.

"Do special people sometimes get kissed? "

He smirks at you and traps your lips with his, both of you closing your eyes and savoring this moment you thought would never happen.


	14. TDI: X-Treme Torture

**Chapter Thirteen: X-Treme Torture**

You’re sitting outside the cabin and continuing the novel you couldn’t finish last time, the rest of your teammates still sleeping. Normally, you’d also be asleep, but since Courtney has been gone… you can’t sleep as easy as before. You don’t know if it’s because you miss her or if you got used to sleeping beside someone, but you can’t sleep well nonetheless. You sigh, finally closing your book in boredom. Maybe you’ll sleep with Duncan tonight.

You shake your head to push that idea away, not sure if that’s a good idea for now. That’s when you hear a loud noise up in the sky just as everyone goes out of the cabins, all of you seeing Chris on a broken plane.

" _Incoming!_ "

Geoff screams something at you all and you run out of Chris’ way in time, yourself falling unto the ground as you watch the psychopath host destroy the bathroom stall and finally stop the engine. The man gets his head out of the plane’s window to look at all of you and you all slowly stand up.

"Just flexing your muscles for today’s…" He gets a megaphone out of his pocket. "… _extreme sports challenge!_ "

You all close your eyes and put your hands on your ears, Chris’ voice destroying your brain by how loud it is.

"Ugh, it’s too early for this! " You nod your head at Gwen’s response.

"This week you’ll participate in three challenges. First off: _Extreme Sofa Fence Skydiving!_ " Chris’ smile stretches more when he sees your bored faces. "Contestants will plum a skydive to a waiting sofa-bed target below. "

The plane doors open to reveal Chef, who then jumps on the sofa-bed that instantly traps him in it. You grimace when you hear his muffled screams of pain, not wanting to do this. You feel arms wrap themselves around your form, looking back at your boyfriend grinning at you and putting his head on your shoulder.

"Of course, you’ll be skydiving from five-thousand feet! And using these!" Chris throws you all some old and broken parachutes at your feet, all of you gasping. "Our lucky contestants are… Trent… and… DJ! "

"Sure, why not? " You look back at a smiling Trent, who tries to encourage DJ and himself. "You know what they say on a black cold mountain, bro. Best clips of heaven on the way into hell. Let’s do this! "

"Yeah… sure… ah-ah… Bring it on! "

"Oh, not so fast! Because the second challenge of the day is: _Extreme rodeo Moose riding!_ Contestants will rodeo-ride the great Canadian bucking moose for eight seconds or get hoofed into a giant pile of socks from the lost and found! "

"Lost and found might need a laundry day back home." You chuckle at Leshawna’s words as you feel Duncan’s arms tighten around you.

"It’s your lucky day, Leshawna! You’re riding for Gophers! And Geoff, you’ll ride for Bass! "

"Yeaaaah! " You quirk an eyebrow at you cowboy friend, not understanding why he would like to do this challenge.

"And the final challenge: _Extreme ski-doo water skiing!_ Contestants will water-ski a racecourse and grab as many flags as they can before crossing the finish line! A member of the opposing team drives the ski-doo! "

"How can we ski without water? " Heather puts her hands on her waist, sending a mean glare to the host.

"It’s really hard. Check it out! " You see Chef makes a demonstration on the ground and hurt himself by getting thrown on a three. "Ahahah! Awesome! "

You get worried about the ex-soldier, asking yourself why Chris is making his only friend do those demonstrations. Also, why Chef is doing them so willingly?

"Harold, you’ll ski for Killer Bass! "

"Sweet! "

"And Lyndsay for the screaming Gophers! "

"Yeah! I can model my new bikini!" You exchange a weird stare with Duncan, wondering how in the world Lyndsay find herself a new bikini when you’ve been stuck in here for weeks.

"Now for the cool swag! Whoever scores the most challenges gets bragging rights for the night, saves their butt for elimination and wins a rent-out multi massage mobile shower! "

Your eyes open wide as the others gasp.

"Can it be? " You’ve never seen Heather this happy.

" _Oh, it be._ "

"Ugh, a shower? " You look back at Owen, who’s eating marshmallows. "How about something good? "

"Listen to me, you marshmallow eating goof. We are gonna win that shower if it’s the last thing we do, got it? "

You roll your eyes at her and turn your head at your boyfriend. "We’re gonna win that shower, right? "

When he sees your hopeful eyes and your pouted lips, he grins at you and slightly kisses your temple. "Of course we will. "

A couple of seconds ago, he didn’t care about that shower thing, but now? He couldn’t be more determined to win.

"Okay, guys! Twenty minutes breaky, then report back for the extreme sports challenge! "

* * *

You’re standing beside Gwen and Bridgette after eating your breakfast, the three of you waiting for everyone to finish before you go to the challenge spot. That’s when you notice Chef throwing a love card on the table, Gwen taking it in her hands right after.

"Look it out, it’s a corny Haiku poem! " Bridgette takes it from the goth girl and starts to read it with you.

"Woah. " Bridgette chuckles and looks at you. "Some dude is crushing big time. It’s probably for you. "

You take the poem and laugh. "What are you talking about? That’s not for me."

"Oh, come on! Duncan likes you a lot, no? It must be from him." You shake your head at Gwen with a playful smile.

"Oh, trust me, writing a poem is not his style. He’s more... physical, if you may say. " Your smirk turns to a sweet smile and you give it back to the goth girl. "It’s probably for you. "

Her eyes open wide as she takes the card, then she smiles sweetly. "Really? I was gonna say it’s for Bridgette. "

"But Trent is totally crushing on you! " Your best friend has a bright smile that turns into a knowing one. "I’ve seen the way he always scams an extra muffin for you. "

"Bri, you scare me. You always see everything. Are you a secret agent? "

"I’m just always in the right place at the right time! Stop thinking I’m a spy or something! "

"She’s not a spy, (Y/N). " You pout at Gwen’s answer as she looks back at Bridgette. "Bri, Geoff is so into you! Do you remember yesterday? How he tried to get your attention? "

You all laugh together when you remember how he got crushed on the dock while skiing on the water.

"Then again, Geoff probably couldn’t pronounce "haiku", let alone write one. " You hide your mouth behind your hand when you feel the bad vibes coming off your best friend, the blond sending a death glare to the goth girl.

"What’s that supposed to mean? " Gwen loses her playful smile and gives Bri a surprised look.

"Nothing. He’s just not exactly the scholarly type. " Bri takes the card off Gwen’s hands with anger.

"Oh, and I supposed Trent is busy being kneachee on his spare time? " You want to shrink down when you see your two friends exchange mean expressions, Gwen taking the card back forcefully.

"I think Trent is more kneachee than Geoff is haikui. "

"Um, guys-"

"Haikui? Ah! At least Geoff isn’t an imposer. Trent probably doesn’t even write his own songs! "

They both try to take the card for themselves, both of the girls ripping the card apart.

"Tell you what, betty. " You take a step back from Gwen. "I’ll bet you two nights dessert that the poem was for me! "

"Oh, I’m up for that! " Your best friend takes a small pause. "… down with that. Whatever, you’re on! (Y/N)! Who do you think it the poem was written for?"

You shake your head with force and walk away. "Hell no. You guys are not putting me in this fight. "

And with that, you leave the lodge.

* * *

"Why are you sitting on the sofa? " Your boyfriend opens one of his eyes at you and smirk, his arms crossed behind his neck in a chill position.

"Cause it’s comfortable. Wanna join me, angel? "

You snort and shake your head. "No, thank you- ah! "

" **Got ya.** "

You haven’t noticed him grabbing you and pulling you on him, his arms trapping you here while he hides his face in your neck and breathes in. You grunt in annoyance and slightly complain, hearing him chuckle at you. You blush when you feel him put slight kisses on your neck, tightening his grip on you. You open your mouth to say something, but you get surprised when he moves your sweater to reveal the skin on your shoulder. You feel him bite a specific spot there, his hands moving up slowly on your stomach. Your whole body gets hot from his actions and you bite your bottom lip, stopping yourself from making any embarrassing noise.

"D-Duncan…"

" _Hm? What is it?_ "

You shiver when you feel his breath on your cheek, the boy grabbing the flesh of your ear with his teeth and making you moan. You feel his smirk on your skin and he hugs your closer, deciding to slightly bite your neck and shoulder to pleasure you more. He gets intoxicated when he feels the small jolts of your body and hears your moans. He bites harder on your shoulder and you gasp, the boy licking the small drops of blood on your skin and stopping you from getting out of his arms.

" _Duncan, please…_ "

He leaves your shoulder alone and goes back to your ear, the deviant boy already loving this power he has on you.

" _ **I know you like it.**_ " He feels you shiver from his words and he takes your chin in his hand, moving it up so he can kiss your jaw.

"D-Duncan, the challenge is about to start." He lets go of your chin and hides his face in your hair again, closing his eyes and breathing in your scent.

"So? Doesn’t mean we can’t have fun."

"Not here, Duncan. " You hear him groan.

" _Fine._ " He hugs you even closer and kiss your neck one last time. " _ **But I’ll have you later.**_ "

He feels your body relax in his arms and you let go of a breath you’ve been holding, moving your sweater back on your shoulder. You hear him chuckle at your action and you move your head to see him, the boy smirking wildly.

"Embarrass, sweetheart? " Your cheeks get redder and you avoid his stare. "Don’t want the others to see my marks on you? "

"S-shut up! "

* * *

"Now, remember! Ground teams can willy their sofa bed wherever they want in order to help their camarade with the landing. "

"Sayonara, Trent! I hope your attempts to impress weird goth girl are worth the chalk outline. " You open your eyes to see Heather kneeling on the ground with chalk in her hands, looking proudly. You simply roll your eyes and get closer to your boyfriend, trying to get more comfortable with him on the sofa.

"Huh, did you ever think that maybe Trent is doing this as a form of self-expression, like haiku?"

There’s a small silent.

"… or not."

You laugh at Gwen’s attempt to prove that the poem was for her, Duncan and Bri smirking at the awkwardness it created. Your best friend slowly shakes her head with amusement and gives you a look, both of you sharing a fist bump. The punk guy quirks an eyebrow at your weird exchange.

"Should I know something? " You smile playfully at him.

"Maybe... Did you write a poem today? " He gives you a weird face.

"A poem? Hell no, that’s lame. " He smirks at you. "You know I like to be more… _expressive_ than that. Why are you asking me?"

"We found a haiku earlier and we’re wondering who wrote it. " Your smile stretches. "Do you know if someone wrote a poem? "

He loses his smirk and frowns. "Someone wrote a haiku for you? "

"It didn’t say for who it was. That’s why the girls are fighting." You send a side glance at Gwen and Bridgette, who are both still silently fighting as DJ and Trent get on the plane. "I personally don’t care. "

You feel a dark atmosphere and you turn back to see him with an intense death stare.

"Babe, are you okay? "

"If this poem if for you, I’m gonna find who wrote it and beat him up for thinking he could flirt with my girlfriend."

"Awn, honey... You’re jealous of a poem? " You laugh when you see him blush in embarrassment, the boy hiding his face in your neck again.

"Shut up. " Your laugh calms down into a chuckle, your smile hurting you. "I’m already sharing you with Courtney, I don’t want another person to join this relationship. "

"That would be too many people to handle, yeah. " He rolls your eyes at your response.

"I’m serious, though. " You close your eyes when he kisses your cheek. "I’m gonna beat the shit out of this person. "

" _If_ that poem was for me. " He groans in your ear and your smile stretches more, both of you hearing the plane take off.

" _ **If**_ it was for you. " He kisses your cheek again. "You know what? I’m sure Courtney would do the same thing if she was here. "

You laugh again, agreeing to his statement.

* * *

"You know what’s romantic? " You watch Bridgette ask this question at Geoff with a smirk, all of you pushing the sofa bed on the beach.

"Um… writing someone’s name on the snow with your pee? "

"Ew, dude. " Geoff looks at you with a surprised look. "That’s just gross. "

"Oh, sorry. "

"Actually, I was thinking more of the “writing” word. " Bridgette gives the blond guy a knowing smile.

"Oooooooh. You mean like a tattoo! Ahah, yeah!"

_Okay, no. Never write a lover’s name on your body. Never. Bad idea._

"I’ve got one on my butt, wanna see? "

"Dude, no! " You feel Duncan’s hands in front of your eyes, protecting you from seeing Geoff’s butt.

"You got a tattoo on your butt? " You ask with curiosity, still blind. "How much did it hurt? "

"Quite bad, aha. " Your boyfriend gets his hand away from your face and you see that your friend has his pants back on. "I just needed to put it on a place that my parents wouldn’t see. "

"Ah, so you got it without permission. " You smirk with proud. "My parents let me have two. When this show’s over, I’m gonna get a third one. "

"You got two tattoos? " You turn back at your smirking boyfriend. "Can I see them? "

You imitate his smile. "Maybe later... if you’re lucky."

You all hear DJ’s screams, looking up to see him slowly falling with his parachute open. You instantly push the sofa with all your strength, all of you running fast to where the big guy is about to land. You arrive just in time and he lands safely, all of you screaming in victory. DJ opens his eyes, looking at himself in panic.

"Everything still here? Nothing’s broken? "

That’s when the sofa bed eats him completely, all of you gasping. Feeling guilty, you all slowly leave the place and look away, Duncan whistling as he holds your hand.

"Okay, camp folks! Let’s start the rodeo moose challenge! "

* * *

"Sorry for not helping you out of the sofa, DJ. "

Your boyfriend gives you a panic look, silently asking you why you’re telling this to the big guy, but DJ smiles brightly at you.

"Ah, it’s alright, (Y/N). You might have been trapped yourself if you did."

"And Geoff is out! "

_Wait, what? Already?_

You look around to see that the blond guy has already landed in the pile of socks right beside you all, giving him a very disappointed look. The host then appears in front of you all with a bright smile.

"Oooh, that stinks for the Bass! "

"Your puns are still not funny, Chris! " The host loses his smile as you gain one. At least you can still crush his fun.

"Leshawna, you’re up! "

* * *

You watch with annoyance you’re two friends fight, both not accepting that the poem wasn’t for either of them. You notice Leshawna on the back of the moose, the animal running around you three like crazy.

"So? You guys are metro with a broken back! " You roll your eyes at Bridgette’s comment.

"So? You guys are dramatic-"

"Will you guys stop fighting? " They both send you a mean glare, only giving them back an annoyed one as they stay silent. Gwen sighs.

"Okay… so it wasn’t Trent or Geoff. "

Bri loses her hard face. "Yeah... Plus, we kind of just assumed that it was for us. "

"Hell yeah, you did. " You smile brightly when you see them agree. "Friend hug? "

They immediately open their arms and you all hug each other, being happy to all be friends again.

"Whoever it is, we’re gonna find out. " Bridgette gets her hands out to you and Gwen. "Deal? "

You both grab one of her hands and shake it.

"Deal! "

* * *

"So, we have a tie! Whoever wins the extreme ski-doo waterskiing challenge wins ultimately! "

" _I’m reaaaadyyyyyyy!_ "

You all turn around and gasp when you see Lyndsay in her green bikini and wearing violet sunglasses, looking proud of her outfit. You smile sweetly at her, happy to see her being so joyful.

"We are so dead…" You look back at Heather who’s looking desperate before she sends Duncan a smirk. "Unless… I get to drive! "

"Just win the damn shower so I can get my hair done." You ignore Leshawna’s comment and grab your boyfriend’s arm with a panic expression, looking up at him with worry.

"Duncan? "

"Don’t worry, sugar. " He shows you the keys for the engine. "I’ll win this shower for you. "

You blink your eyes to process the information and give him a sweet smile.

"Just be careful, okay? " You get on your toes and kiss his cheek. "I don’t care about the shower if it means that you get hurt. "

You leave him there with a dumbfounded expression to join your two friends, still debating on who wrote the poem.

"Okay, so haiku’s candidates are Duncan, Harold, DJ, and Owen. "

"It’s not Duncan. " Gwen and Bri turn their attention at you. "I asked him and he said it wasn’t him. Actually, he got pretty angry when he heard about it, saying he’ll beat whoever wrote it if he founds out that it’s for me and all. "

"Okay, so he’s out. " Your best friend gives you a deep-thinking expression. "But, if the poem is for (Y/N), we might add the other girls as candidates too. "

"I think everyone’s straight except for me and Courtney. " You nod at Gwen’s answer.

"We know it’s not you, Gwen. And, well, it can’t be Courtney since she’s eliminated, so she’s out too. " You smile sadly at Bridgette comments and ignore the pain of not being able to see your girlfriend anymore. "And Harold is…"

The repaired bathroom stall door opens to reveal Harold with his pants off.

"Ladies. " He tries to walk out but falls on the ground. "Ow! "

"Yeah. " Gwen’s smirk and turns to you and Bridgette, all of you silently laughing at him. "I’ll take Owen. "

"And I’ll take DJ. " Bridgette looks around to try to spot the big guy.

"I’ll try to see if the girls are straight or not. "

You all fist bump to agree to your deal and walk away.

* * *

"You are so out of your league, Alpha Geek. " You quirk an eyebrow at Heather, wondering where she’s taking all of these insults.

"Here’s the road rules… Oh, wait! There are no rules! Which means this is gonna be awesome! "

"So, Leshawna. " The brown girl turns at you and smiles at you. "I just thought that I have a couple of friends back home that you might be interested in. If you want, I can present one or two of them to you. What do you think? "

"You’re serious, girl? " You see her eyes lit up. "Hell yeah, I want too! "

"Great! I just need to know if you like boys or girls… or maybe both? "

"Just boys for me! " She chuckles a little. "I’m sorry if you had any girl in mind. "

"Nah, it’s fine." You laugh and shake your head. "I know a boy or two that might do the trick. We’ll see when the shows over. "

You then slowly walk over to Lindsay, who’s giving encouragements to Heather.

"Flag one for Bass! "

"Hey, Lindsay! " She turns at you and loses her smile for a second, her last encounter with you coming back to her mind. "How are you today? That bikini looks really good on you. "

She instantly gets her happy face back and gives you a bright smile.

"Awn, thanks (Y/N)! I’m good! " She takes a pause and gives you a weak smile. "Hey, I’m sorry for telling you that we couldn’t be friends anymore. Heather told me a lot of confusing things and… well, can you forgive me?"

Your eyes soften. "Of course I forgive you! "

"Oh, I’m so happy! " She gives you a big hug and you return it with joy.

"Hey, can I ask you a question? " She lets you go and nods at you with a bright smile. "Me, Gwen and Bri are surveying all the remaining campers. I just need to know if you’re attracted to boys, girls or both. "

"Oh, really? " She tilts her head while thinking. "Well, I’ve always liked boys. I mean, I did kiss a girl once for the experience, but I didn’t like it. "

"That’s great, Lindsay, thank you! "

" _Five flags for the Bass!_ "

" **That’s impossible!** " You both look at the mud lake, watching Harold hold the five flags proudly while Heather screams with anger.

" _Heather has to cross the finish line or be disqualified! But if she does, Harold will take five points to victory for the Killer Bass!_ "

As Lindsay gasps, you suddenly think that there’s no way Heather is going to talk to you later. That girl hates you too much and for no reason at all, so you turn your attention back to your new-found blond friend.

"Hey, Lindsay? " She looks back at you, already forgetting about her team about to lose. "Do you know if Heather likes boys or girls? "

"Oh, I don’t know. She doesn’t talk about it. I think she just likes boys... "

"Thanks. " You give her a bright smile that she returns. "You helped me a lot, Lindsay. I’m glad I talked to you. "

"Awn, I’m glad to! "

" _I don’t know what Heather did to make Harold lose his concentration, but it’s a total wipe-out for the Bass team!_ "

_Wait, what?_

You just slap your forehead when you see Heather without her shirt on.

* * *

You watch your boyfriend drive the engine, looking back at a smiling Lyndsay with a smirk. He looks at you and you smile back wildly at him, the boy sending you a thumbs up.

"Ready, set… Go! "

Both teenagers start the challenge, Lindsay getting the first flag and doing a whole flip over like it’s nothing, making you drop your mouth.

"Flag one! "Chris' voice comes to your mind and you see Duncan try to make Lyndsay fall, but the girl takes all the flags like it’s nothing. "Flag two! Three! Four! "

Worry washes over you when you see your boyfriend get angrier and drive around faster, all the horrible outcomes coming to your mind.

"Lindsay has taken five flags and is about to make the Gophers win! Duncan has to cross! "

" _ **Says you!**_ "

You hide your face behind your hands when you see him get thrown into a tree, Lindsay screaming in happiness as she crosses the line alone. Chris stops his all-terrain vehicle right beside you, confused.

"She… won…?" He sends you a look to verify what he just saw. "...Gophers win! "

"Duncan!" You scream at the tree where your boyfriend was thrown, worrying sick about his well-being. You told him to be careful! Now he might be dead!

You sigh in relief when you see his head pop out, his hair messed up and his eyes looking a little crazy. Your blond friend passes in front of you, still skiing.

"Sorry about that, Dunc! I just really wanted that shower! "

"Yeah, whatever! "

"Duncan! " He looks down at you with a dumbfounded expression, shaking his head forcefully to see your form better. "Are you okay, honey? "

"I’m fine, sugar. Don’t worry about me. "

"You got thrown into a tree, of course I’m gonna worry about you! " You angrily put your hands on your waist as you see him chuckle. "Just get down here, alright? "

"Yeah, yeah. Coming, babe. "

You roll your eyes at his comment, walking away with a pout.

* * *

"So, all the girls are only rooting for boys. " You sit down at a table beside Bridgette and Gwen, the two of them looking down at the repaired poem.

"And we ruled out Owen and DJ. " You groan when you hear Gwen’s words.

"Seriously, who could it be? " As Bridgette says this, Leshawna walks beside you with a bunch of towels wrapped around her.

"Who could what be? " Your best friend gives the letter to the brown girl, Chris suddenly popping beside all of you.

"Another note from your secret admirer, Leshawna? " You all gasps as the host disappears.

"Leshawna’s the crush girl? "

"You three know someone else here with a kick-butt attitude like mine? " She shows you her big butt before walking away, the three of you sharing a confused expression.

"But who wrote it? "

"I don’t know, Gwen. " You look around at the campers with an intense face. "I don’t know."

* * *

You’re sitting at the campfire with four of your teammates, Geoff sitting far away up in a tree due to his really bad scent. You put your hand on your boyfriend’s shoulder to comfort him, the boy very disappointed at himself, and you look around to see Harold smirking at punk, making you frown. Why is he being like this? First, he’s pissed off when you get with Duncan, then when Courtney’s gone he’s all happy and chuckling evilly? And now he’s even proud to see your boyfriend sad? I mean, you know that Duncan has been mean to Harold, but still?

"As you know, if you do not receive a marshmallow, you will be forced to walk the dock of shame and you can never ever return to camp." The host takes two marshmallows and looks back at you all. "Bridgette and DJ, you are safe. "

You watch your two friends walk up to the psychopath and take their marshmallows, Chris taking his megaphone out to talk to Geoff.

"Geoff, you’re safe too!" The man throws the marshmallow at your blond friend and looks back at the remaining three of you. It suddenly occurs to you that you might be eliminated and you don’t know what to think when Chris gives you a bright smile.

"(Y/N), my girl! Of course, you’re safe!" You sigh in relief and run over to the host, accepting the marshmallow with gratitude. You exchange a glance with your boyfriend and stop munching on the white dessert, now worrying about losing your boyfriend.

"Okay. That leaves Harold, who bailed big for reasons unknown…. And Duncan, who bailed even bigger because Lindsay left him circling the drain in a shameless-"

" _ **The chick**_ **…** " Your eyes open wide when you see your boyfriend run over to the host and grab his shirt, looking at the adult with threatening eyes. "… _**was determined!**_ "

"… which is why you’re safe! " Chris gives Duncan the marshmallow and the deviant boy accepts it with a proud smirk. You sigh in relief, your boyfriend arriving next to you and putting his arm around your shoulder to kiss you on the cheek.

"We’re not gonna be separated yet, angel. Don’t you worry. " You chuckle happily.

"Well, it’s been fun, guys. " You give your brother by heart a sad look when he comes to you all, giving you high fives before leaving to the dock of shame. You all follow him until he’s in front of the boat, turning back to face all of you and the Gophers, who just joined.

"Farewell Total Drama Island! I loved, I lost… and I saw boobies! What more can a man ask for? "

You and the girls gasp.

"You loved? "

"You’re a man? "

"You saw boobies!? "

"What the f-"

"Leshawna! I meant every word of that poem! "

"Poem? That was you?!" The brown girl hugs the little guy in her arms, you, Bridgette, Gwen, and even Lindsay awning at them when they kiss. Leshawna waves happily at the ginger-haired boy when he gets grabbed by Chef, coming back to you all with a bright smile. Gwen gives her a high five and you smile sweetly, putting your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder tiredly as he tightens his grip on you.

"Wait a second… So Harold saw your chest? "

"Can we see? "

"Heck no! " She loses her smile, her face turning into an angry one as she looks back at the leaving boat. "Wait a minute…. Whose chest did you see!? "

"Didn’t Heather lose her shirt in the last challenge? " Leshawna looks back at you just when you say those words, walking back at the camp angrily to go and find Heather. Oops. Guess she’s in trouble now.

You feel lips on your forehead and you close your eyes happily as you hug Duncan. The deviant boy accepts your embrace with a chuckle and you hide your face in his chest, breathing in a couple of times and just enjoying his presence.

"I think I’m gonna head to bed, sugar. " You look back up to give him a complaining pout, making him laugh quietly. "Well, don’t look so sad. You can always join me."

"But there’s Geoff and DJ in there! "

Duncan smirks. "So? "

"Well... they’re gonna tease me! "

"More than me? " You blush and hide your face in his chest again, the punk guy laughing out loud this time. "Come on, sweetheart. It won’t be that bad."

"Yeah, but… but still!"

"Awn, (Y/N)… " He takes your chin in his hand and forces you to look at him. "Are you afraid of boys? "

"… a little-" You feel him grab your lips with his own, his hand behind your head as you close your eyes. You move your arms behind his neck, one of his circling your back and sticking your body to his. He lets go of you and puts his forehead against yours, both of you taking your breath back.

"I’ll be there. " He pecks your lips for a second. "No need to be afraid."

You sigh and open your eyes again. "Fine, let’s go. "

You never thought you’d ever see him give you such a big smile.


	15. TDI: The Brunch Of Disgustingness

**Chapter Fourteen: Brunch of Disgustingness**

When you feel a hand shake around your shoulder, you instantly get up and shove a pillow into Geoff’s face, making him fall on the ground with a scream. You have some time to notice that Duncan play a card game with DJ on another bed before you let yourself fall on your covers, trying to go back to sleep. You hear the boys, the blond getting the pillow off his face and sending your back a pout.

"Aw, (Y/N), come on! I just wanted to wake you up! It’s almost breakfast! " You roll your eyes when you hear Geoff talk "…(Y/N)? "

"I can’t hear you. I’m sleeping. "

"(Y/N), please? "

"No. "

"Duncan, help me, man! She’s your girlfriend! "

"I hear you, dude, but I don’t wanna die." You hear him chuckle and some cards being shuffled, moving around a little to get yourself more comfortable without your pillow. Geoff stars to think and looks back at his friends, an idea popping into his head when he sees the cards.

"Okay, (Y/N). If you wake up, I’ll let you show me a magic trick. "

You instantly open your eyes and get your upper body up, slowly looking back at him with a bright face and handing him your hand.

"I need a deck of cards. "

The cowboy blond looks back at his friend with a hopeful smile, wanting them to give you the deck of cards that they’re playing with. DJ shakes his head with a smile as Duncan quirks his eyebrow, sending you an annoyed look.

"Babe, we’re playing a game. Can’t you wait? "

"If I’m not doing this right now, I’m going back to sleep. "

"No, (Y/N), wait! " You groan in annoyance and Geoff gives his friends the puppy eyes. "Please, guys? "

"Ugh, fine. " Duncan lets DJ put the cards together as you come and sit down on the ground, the three boys doing the same while the big guy gives you the whole deck.

"Thanks, DJ. " You shuffle the cards around a bit, spreading them all on the ground so everyone can see each one of the cards. "Okay... Geoff. I want you to pick a card. "

He looks at the cards and takes one. "I want the seven of clubs. "

"Alright. " You take his card and put it on the ground in front of the blond friend before you look at your boyfriend. "Duncan, please pick a card. "

"The five of spades." You take the card and put it beside Geoff’s, taking the rest of the deck in your hands. You start to put each card on the ground one by one, none of them facing up.

"Tell me when to stop, Geoff. "

"Stop! " You stop putting the cards down, taking the seven of clubs and putting it on top of the little pile you made. Geoff’s card is the only one facing up as you put the rest of the deck on top of it. You start to put the cards down one by one again.

"Duncan, tell me to stop. "

"… stop. " You do as he says and do the same process before spreading out the cards on the ground, this time having all the cards being hidden except for the two chosen by the boys. You point at the hidden card beside Duncan’s and look up at your friends.

"Okay, guys. I’m gonna predict where you guys split the deck. This card right here, without even looking, is a nine of clubs. " You turn the card to show the nine of clubs, smirking proudly when you see their surprised face as you go right after the card next to Geoff’s. "Geoff, I’m getting king of diamond vibes. "

"Is it the king of diamonds? " Your smirk grows at DJ’s question and you simply turn the card to reveal it, the boys gasping.

"That’s incredible! And she did that with _my_ deck!"

"No way! It’s not a cheating one? "

"Sweetheart, you gotta show me how to do this stuff. " You laugh at their comments, shaking your head happily.

"A magician never reveals its tricks. "

* * *

You walk in the lodge with all the boys from your team, Duncan having one of his arms wrap around your shoulders again and pinching your cheek playfully as you pout at him. In the last days, you learned that living with boys is funnier than being with girls all the time, even if you do miss having Bridgette in the same room as you. Speaking of her, you all go join her to your usual table and start to crack some jokes together, ignoring Chris and Chef quietly giggling in their spot beside the entrance.

"Congratulations to the remaining eleven campers for reaching the halfway mark in the competition! You’ll all be on the jury for the final episode! "

"We got the power, yeah! " You shake your head at Geoff, your smile not coming off your face.

"The teams will become one next week! But first, all the girls will be moved to the Gophers’ cabin and all the guys will stay in the Bass’ cabin. "

_Awn, really? Do I have to change cabins again?_

"This week challenge is as old as history itself... A battle of the sexes! " Your boyfriend winks at you as you stick out your tongue at him. "After everyone is settled in, I’ll announce the challenge. And then… you’ll have a… bite to… eat. "

You frown when you see the adults start to giggle again.

"Ready for a little good news? This week, no one will be kicked off! "

_Oh, nice!_

"It’s all for a reward and it’s a good one. Okay, time to relocate! Let’s move! "

You all go outside to walk towards the cabins, you giving Duncan a playful smile.

"Guess we’re enemies for today, huh? " He chuckles at your question and kisses your temple before you leave his side, going to Bridgette.

"Hey, Bri. We’ll finally share bunk beds! Isn’t it fun? "

"Oh god, yes! I’m so happy to not be the only new girl. "

"Awn, don’t mention it. I’m really happy t-"

" _Wow!_ " Heather cuts you off, getting between the two of you and looking at Bridgette. "Your hair looks great today! So natural! "

"Thanks, I-"

"How do you take care of it? You have to share your secret! " She grabs your best friend’s shoulders with a bright smile and the blond awkwardly chuckles.

"Oh, it’s nothing, really. "

"And (Y/N), wow! Your skin looks so soft and healthy! Seriously, how do you manage that? " You quirk an eyebrow when you see Heather being so friendly with you, the fake eyebrow girl putting her hand on your shoulder.

"Thanks... I just wash it, I guess. " You see Gwen arrive beside you three, sending Heather a weird look.

"Oh, of course! Silly me, aha! "

"Watch it with this one. She’s trouble." You smile at Gwen as Heather lets go of you and Bridgette, sending the goth girl a glare. You feel Bridgette take your hand and make you walk away from the two girls, the blond obviously feeling awkward. You simply go inside the Bass cabin with her, starting to grab your things. As you’re still making your luggage, you see Bridgette take her bag on her shoulder and walk back to leave when the door opens, revealing Geoff. You smile when you see them awkwardly talk to each other with big smiles on their face, and then you simply continue to put your things together.

"Big day ahead of us! " You turn your head in time to see Chris take Bridgette by her arm and pull her out of the cabin, letting you alone with Geoff. You finally close your bag and put it on your back, walking towards your blond friend.

"I’ll miss you…" You shake your head with a smile when you hear him whisper those words at an absent Bridgette.

"Dude, she’s still here. It’s not like she’s leaving for Paris or something. "

He gives you a sad smile. "Yeah, you’re right. But still, it won’t be the same without having you two in the cabin right next to us. "

"Yeah, I guess you’re right. " You move past him to walk out. "It was nice living with you guys for a few days! "

"Same! "

You spot Bridgette not too far from where you are and you join her, sensing her being tense. When you arrive beside her, she gives you a nervous smile.

"Bri, it’ll be fine. " She sighs at your response and you put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "We know them, it’s gonna be fun. "

"I hope you’re right. "

When she opens the door, you both lose your smiles rapidly.

"Nobody’s leaving until I found out who hate my pudding pockets! "

"I ate them. " Heather gives Leshawna a boring look. " _So what?_ "

_Oh god, why am I a girl? It’s too much drama for me to handle!_

"Woah! Pump the breaks a minute! That’s my food! No one touches my food! "

"Whatever! Deal with it! It serves you right for leaving your junk everywhere. Especially that! " Heather points to a big purple bra hanging on Leshawna’s bed. " _That_ is bugging me. "

"Yeah, it would bug me too if I didn’t have anything in the front or in the back to shake! "

"Yeah? Well, you got so much junk in your trunk, your jean should come with a trash compactor! "

"Ooh, you want a piece of this? " You and Bridgette share a scared look, both of you not wanting to even take one step inside this cabin.

"Bridgette! (Y/N)! It’s so good to see you! " You look back at the girls to see Heather smile at you two wildly as the others seem surprised by your presence, the bitch girl’s voice beeing too sweet for you. "Come in, come in! Welcome to our cabin! "

She comes to you and takes a grip of your left arm while she takes Bridgette’s right one, still smiling at the two of you. You see your best friend give her back her smile and you force one, not buying what she’s doing right now.

"You guys are gonna have so much fun, here! You’ll see, we’re like a big family here!"

"Big and dysfunctional. " You chuckle at Gwen’s comment and Heather brings you inside the cabin, showing the room off.

"Anyway, if you girls need anything, just yell. "

"Thanks for the big welcome, Heather! " You’re surprised by how sweet Bridgette seems, wondering if she’s more nervous to change cabins than what you thought. You see Lindsay come in front of you with her usual happiness and your expression softens, her bubble of joy already making you feel better.

"Welcome to the club! Oh, (Y/N), I’m so glad that you and Heather can finally be friends! I promise it’ll be so much fun! " She takes a small pause. "As long as you do everything Heather says- Ow! "

You frown when you see Heather kick Lindsay in the leg, the black-haired girl instantly laughing and making you and Bridgette walk away from the blond.

"Ahah! We love joking around here in the girls’ cabin! " She stops beside two bunk beds and you take the opportunity to look back at Gwen and Leshawna, exchanging some confused faces as to why Heather is acting so kind. "I made sure your bunks are next to min-"

"Hey! " Lindsay is suddenly beside you three. "That’s my bed- Ow! "

"So we can talk and share and really get to know each other! What do you think? "

When she finally frees you two, Bridgette and yourself put your bags on the ground. You frown at the fake eyebrow girl while Bridgette simply smiles brightly.

"I don’t know… I guess it’s fine." You force yourself to calm down when you see your best friend’s bright face.

"Hey, thanks, everybody! " The blond surfer walks to the other side of the room, handing her hand to Leshawna. "I can’t wait to know all of y-"

"Okay! Plenty of time to chat later! Let’s unpack! " Heather takes Bridgette by her shoulders and drags her away, the blond waving at the other two Gophers’ girls. When they pass beside you, the black-haired girl takes your arm and pulls you with them, totally ignoring your groans and your eyes rolling at her.

"This is so great! I found we’re getting along way better than the guys! "

Lindsay’s words make you remember the last days you spent with your boyfriend and the guys, shaking your head with a playful smile.

"I’m not so sure, Lindsay. " You chuckle lightly. "Knowing them, they’re probably having a little party right now. "

* * *

Heather is showing you and Bridgette her box full of makeup and jewelry, the black-haired girl still smiling sweetly at you two.

"What’s mine is yours. Nail polish, scrunchies, earrings, just help yourself! "

"Wow! " Lindsay stops by and looks at Heather’s things, the blond about to put her hand in the box when the black-haired girl closes it with a hard look.

"Thanks, Heather, but um…" You cross your arms on your chest when Bridgette talks, the bitch girl looking back at her with a smile. "I like to keep it natural. "

"Awn, that’s a shame. " She looks at you and her smile grow bigger. "What about you, (Y/N)? We’ll share our things, right? "

"I’m not good with makeup, so I prefer not. " You give her one of your fake smiles, still not trusting this new side of her personality.

"Oh, don’t worry! I can take care of that!" You gasp when she takes a hold of your chin, the girl taking out a pencil and filling in your eyebrows. She then opens her box again and starts to transform your face, feeling yourself chuckle awkwardly.

"No, but really, Heather... You don’t have to do that. "

"I insist! " You give your best friend a side look, silently asking for help, but you only see her smirk at you along with Lindsay. " There, I’m done! See?"

Heather hands you a pocket mirror with the same bright smile and you sigh as you take it. You gasp in surprise upon seeing your reflection, having expected to have heavy makeup on you and look like a barbie… But you have a more natural look, making you prettier… but still you.

"Wow… Heather… that’s great! You’re good at this!" Her smile transforms into a sincere one and she chuckles, dismissing your compliment with her hand.

"Oh, please! That’s nothing! Like my mom always says, a lady can always use a little boost in the looks department. "

"And my mama told me ain’t nothing free in this world! " You jump and turn your head at Leshawna. " Watch what you get with this girl, (Y/N). You too, Bridgette. "

You and your best friend exchange a look when you see a pissed off Heather walk over to the brown girl, both sending each other a death glare.

"Mind your own business! "

"We’re a team and we gotta live in the same cabin, so this is all of our business! "

"Yeah, we’re a team! " You notice that Bridgette has popped up between the girls, her hands up to try to calm them. "We should take this as an opportunity to get to know each other better! Right, (Y/N)?"

"Sure, yeah. If you want. "

You feel Heather’s glare turn to you in particular and you gulp, feeling her hatred boiling fast. She closes her eyes and tightens her fist with anger as she walks away.

"You wanna play that way? Fine! Be on their side! " You quirk an eyebrow when you see her put a line of tape on the floor. "This is my side and that’s your side!"

_Seriously? How old are we, seven?_

"Ah, yeah, that’s right. You keep putting down that tape. And if you cross it, I’ll smack you down. "

The black-haired girl bites her lips angrily and sends Leshawna a furious stare, but she calms down a little and turns to you and Bridgette.

"You can choose the weird girls if you want, but just so you know… Once you do, you’re like, not allowed on our side. Right, Lindsay? "

The blond girl nods at Heather’s words, going beside her and looking back at you and Bri with the same stare. You just wait there beside your best friend, not knowing what to do.

"Let’s build bridges, not walls! " Bri takes you hand in hers and you feel her body shaking from the stress.

" _Take your pick._ "

You sigh and decide to cross the tape, your best friend not quite following you yet. Lindsay’s face falls into a sad one when she sees your action and you think you see a small sadness in Heather’s eyes, but you dismiss it. You don’t think that girl ever wanted you two to be friends, she’s too mean for that. Bridgette finally imitates you and both girls get their angry stares back, Gwen and Leshawna smiling wildly.

"You just dug your own graves. " Heather and Lindsay walk away to their bunk beds as Gwen and Leshawna walks on the other side, you and Bri staying in the middle of the room.

"Let’s try to get along, okay? Otherwise, the guys are going to cream us! Don’t you get it? " Bridgette only gets her bag and yours back by getting thrown. "Tough room…"

_Guess I was wrong about having fun here._

* * *

As you’re waiting with everyone in the lodge, you feel an arm get around your waist and lips touch your cheek, making you close your eyes and sigh in contentment. After all that yelling in the cabin, you deserve some little actions of love. You open your eyes again to set them on Duncan, smiling tiredly at him.

"I’m guessing the girls aren’t as fun as you thought? "

"It’s horrible. " He chuckles at your response and you pout. "Really wish we weren’t enemies today. "

"Not until the challenge start." Your smile grows a little and you close your eyes again when he kisses you, the punk getting away and licking his lips in wonder. "You taste like lipstick. Are you wearing makeup? "

"I got kidnap by Heather." You roll your eyes with a smile and your boyfriend chuckles. "But I like it. Do you like it? "

"I would like how you look even if you would wear a trash bag. " You laugh at his comment and playfully punch him in his shoulder, the deviant boy letting go of you with his usual smirk.

"It’s time for today’s challenge! " You notice Chris in front of the whole group with Chef beside him, smirking wildly.

"Um, where’s breakfast at? " The adults giggle at Leshawna’s question and you frown, wondering what’s going on with these two.

"Stop doing that! " You nod at Heather’s comment. What’s their problem today?

"Let’s just tell them that… today’s challenge is… the brunch of disgustingness! "

When he sees your face drop, Chris’ smile only grows wider. He got the idea of this challenge because of you after all! Well, you did eat a whole lot since the day you collapsed, but not enough (in his opinion). So why not make a challenge where you have to eat to win? But, you know, the food has to be disgusting. It’s not called a challenge for nothing.

"You’ll be getting a nine-course meal. Each member of each team must finish each dish! You will not know if the next is grosser than the last, not as gross or just as gross! Just know that it will likely be… gross. "

"Fill em about the reward if they win, Chris! " Chef is smiling happily and you almost forget about all the disgusting food you’ll have to eat. Almost.

"The winning team spends two days at the local five stars resort where they’ll be pampered, eat gourmet food and be given anti-biotics against anything they may have caught while participating in this challenge! The losing team will go hungry tonight… and spend the next two days here… on Total Drama Island… with Chef! "

The ex-soldier excessively waves at you with a weird and big smile, making everyone gasp in horror as you simply wave and smile back That’s when you feel your hand getting grab with force and you look back at Heather, who’s giving you a hard look.

"(Y/N), we are going to win this challenge, alright? I don’t care if you scream or beg, you’ll eat everything. "

Aside from the shock you feel once you realize that everyone knows about your condition, Heather’s stare is making you feel like a knife cutting you. And right now, you’re only sure of one thing.

You’ve never been that scared in your entire life.

* * *

You’re sitting between Lindsay and Gwen, Leshawna being right in front of you while Heather’s at her left and Bridgette’s at her right. You look down at your hidden plate, not wanting to see what’s under it. You turn back at your boyfriend, who sends you an empathetic smile to cheer you up. You give him a sad smile back, feeling the stress eating you slowly.

"Take a whiff, boys. " You turn your head back at the brown girl. "Cause all I smell is a victory for me and my girls! "

_Even with me in your team?_

"I’ll eat everything! Even my drawers if I have to! " You grimace when you hear Owen talk, not wanting to eat his drawers. "…Will I have to? "

"Let’s begin the challenge! First, some hors-d’oeuvres…" Chef takes the lids off the plates and you see weird purple meatballs that aren’t… looking that bad… but not that great either.

"Alright, meatballs! Bring it on! " You watch Owen put the whole thing in his mouth, eating fast.

"Well, technically, you’re right, Owen. But these are kind of special. " You watch Chris point at a very happy Chef.

"It’s beef meatballs bourguignon! "

You all suddenly understand what kind of balls it is, and you stop yourself from vomiting as you hear Owen throwing up the ones he just ate. When you see the girls starting to eat the dish like nothing’s bothering them, you swallow the vomit in your mouth and slowly chew on one of the meatballs. You then notice that it tastes fine and continue to eat much faster, even if the meat is hard to chew.

"Oh, okay! Gross meat right out the door! " You give Lindsay a side look. "But I could totally use a pedicure at that resort… Alright, I’ll eat this!"

"What’s the matter? " You watch Heather swallow an entire ball with a smirk. "You big boys don’t wanna eat a little meatball? "

You laugh at her comment and, despite hating her, you give her a high five that she gladly takes. You imagine that this round must be really hard for the boys.

"What are you doing? " You notice Heather beside Bridgette, who hasn’t even touched her plate. "Why aren’t you eating? "

"I’m a vegetarian. It’s against my principles. "

_Oh shit, I forgot about that._

"Are you sabotaging the team just to spite me? "

"It’s true, Heather. She hasn’t eaten any meat in her entire life. "

"Ugh! I don’t care! Just eat your food! " She leaves angrily and sits down at her place, continuing to eat her meatballs. You open your mouth to say something to your best friend, but Geoff sits down right beside her, cutting you off. He tells her something that you can’t quite hear but, when he’s done, your blond friend starts to eat and you smile at him. It’s very kind of him to help her even if you guys are not in the same team.

"I can’t do it! " As all the girls are finishing their plates, you look back to see Trent hiding his eyes behind his hands, Owen and DJ crying silently.

"Well, looks like the boys lost this round. The first challenge goes to the female campers! "

You all scream in joy, feeling yourself getting up and hugging Lindsay. While you’re doing so, you see your best friend walk to Geoff and thank him, your boyfriend giving him a pissed off face.

"You’re helping them, dork!? You just cost us this round! "

"Yo, like you wouldn’t go help (Y/N) if she needs some! And it’s my business who I talk to! Give me a break, man! "

"We can’t let them win! " You sigh when you see Trent get in the middle of the fight. "You blow it! "

"Come on! DJ chicken out! "

"Are you kidding m-" Your boyfriend gets cut off by Chris, who just used a loud whistle to silence everyone.

"Are we here to argue or are we here to eat a series of revolting meals? "

_I would prefer to argue._

You watch the boys settle down, instantly apologizing to each other and cracking jokes all over again. Your eyes open wide, your brain not processing how fast they got over their fight. Why is it so complicated with girls? Is it because you’re all passive-aggressive all the time?

"The score now stands as one for the girls and zero for the guys. And now, the next course in the brunch of disgustingness! " The psychopath host shows Chef coming in the lodge with a large hidden plate. "You guys like pizza? "

"Oh yeah! I can eat pizza anytime… with anything on it! " You slowly quirk an eyebrow at Owen’s outburst, not sure that he’s thinking of the kind of pizza you guys will be eating… and when Chris’ twisted smile grows even more, you feel like you might be right.

"Anything…?" Chris looks back at Chef and the big guy puts up the lid. "How about live grasshopper pizza with tiny jellyfish sauce and live anchovies? "

… _that’s not that bad, actually._

"Ew! I hate anchovies! " All the girls give Lindsay a weird look, not understanding why she’s not finding something worse than having to eat simple anchovies. You jump a little when Chef puts a plate in front of you, your eyes trailing down slowly on the moving grasshoppers and anchovies.

"Hm-hm! That is straight-up nasty! " You take a knife in your hand and continue to watch the moving things on your pizza as you listen to Leshawna. "I ain’t eating that."

"Oh yes, you are! " You follow one grasshopper with your eyes and stick your tongue out, preparing yourself as you hear Heather. "I am not missing out on an indoor hidden pool just because you can’t keep down a few- aaaaaaaaaaaah! "

Surprised, you look up at the black-haired girl screaming at her plate.

"Grasshoppers! Okay, I can’t do this! " She gets up to leave, but Gwen stops her by taking a grip of her arm. You go back to hunt one of the moving things on your pizza, seeing that the goth girl is taking care of the situation.

"I’m digesting disgusting meatballs. You’re gonna eat! "

"Fine! Can I get a little-" You cut her off by planting your knife in two live grasshoppers on your plate and one anchovy.

"I got them! " You start to eat the pizza with joy, but you give the girls a confused look when you notice their stare. "What? I just wanted to kill the grasshoppers so they won’t go in my hair."

They all shake their heads at you and Heather takes her pizza, slowly taking a bite, chewing it and swallowing it. Her eyes open wide and she gives everyone a cringy smile.

"Hmmm! Delicious! " She looks at Bridgette in particular. "You’re up next! "

Your best friend takes her pizza and gives it some hesitation, you and Leshawna sharing a look and instantly cheering for her.

"You can do it, Bri! I believe in you! If I can eat this whole thing, you can do it too! "

"Go, Bridgette! Go, Bridgette! " The blond takes a bite and swallows it, continuing and finishing the whole thing. "Yeah, girl! "

"Aaaah! There’s no way I’m eating that! " You watch Lindsay look away from her plate. "It’s not even food! "

"Lindsay! Lindsay! " You take your friend’s shoulders. "Breathe with me, alright? Breathe…"

You help her calm down, using the techniques you got for your panic attacks. You feel her body relax, but you can still see the hesitation in her eyes. You exchange a look with Bri and she gives Lindsay a little smile.

"Hey, let’s try yoga meditation, okay? " Lindsay nods at the blond and the surf girl sits down on the table. "Good. First, get into position. "

Soon, the model blond follows Bridgette’s steps and eats her pizza, the girl being too deep in her thoughts to notice what you’re feeding her.

"Now that’s what I’m talking about! Teamwork! "

"No, stop! " You look back to see Trent being held down by DJ while Geoff is about to feed him a slice. "Wait, it was a joke! Ahah! I’m warning you, my dad’s a lawyer! "

The blond guy stuff Trent’s mouth with the pizza, the boy eating it without actually wanting to.

"Okay, you know what? I can’t be doing this! " You give back Leshawna a panic look, not believing what she’s saying. "Little grasshopper is minding his own business! Why would I want to go and bite his little head off? "

"The winners of this round… are the guys! "

As you hear your guy friends scream in victory, you put your head on the table with agony. You ate that pizza for nothing. You ate that disgusting pizza for nothing. Even if you force yourself to eat all the meals, how are you going to be sure that the rest of the girls are gonna follow? You’ve already eaten too much in your opinion, feeling your stomach moving weirdly.

You don’t know if you’ll be able to eat something else…

"Alright! Who’s ready for the third course? Spaghetti! " You hide your eyes when you see earthworms on your plate. "Well, actually, earthworms covered in snail sauce and hairballs. "

"No! I can’t take it anymore!" You look back at Geoff, who is getting up and running out of the lodge and screaming.

"I’ll take care of this. " DJ gets up with a smile and bolts out of the lodge, then you guys hear a loud thud outside. You decide to take a fork in your hand and begin to eat some earthworms, your brain screaming at you to stop.

* * *

"And, once again, the winners are the guys! "

You throw your head on the table, accepting the pain you’re inflicting yourself. You ate the whole plate of spaghetti, but a lot of the girls didn’t. You could have not eaten anything! Why are you even forcing yourself to do this? Don’t they know that it’s even harder for you? That’s it. You’re not doing this anymore.

"Come on, girls! " You move your head to send Bridgette a depressed look. "Let’s show them some girl power! "

"Bridgette’s right! " You silently sigh when you hear Gwen’s happy voice. "Let’s kick some boy butt! "

"Yeah! Just like I’ve been saying all along! We gotta act like a team!" You get your head off the table and give Heather a dumbfounded expression.

"What-ever. "

"Alright, everybody! Time for course number four! No nine-course meal would be complete without soup. " Your brain goes blank when you see the disgusting soup in front of you. "Today’s special is French onion soup with hangnail crackers. "

You watch the girl eat their soup with the help of a funnel that Bridgette finds, not bothered by the meal at all. When they’re all done, they turn at you.

And you snap.

"I can’t do this. " You get up from the table and walk slowly for the exit, your face twisting in terror. "I can’t do this anymore! I’m leaving! "

"(Y/N), get back here! " You run when you hear Heather scream at you, but you’re suddenly thrown on the ground and you scream, moving and kicking around as fast as you can.

That’s when you feel people take a hold of your arms and legs, preventing you from moving. You open your eyes to see that Heather, Leshawna, and Gwen are the ones holding you down, Lindsay looking at you with a sad expression while Bridgette is coming to you with your soup and the funnel.

"Get off me! _Get off me!_ " You feel your eyes trying to pop out of your head when you see your best friend about to put the funnel in your mouth. "No! No, I don’t want to! Please, don’t! Don’t! N-"

You try to spit out the funnel but Bridgette’s already pouring the soup in it, making you swallow it all. Without tasting anything, you feel the disgusting things get inside your body, tears in your eyes. When it’s done, the blond surf girl takes the funnel out of your mouth and the other three free you from their grip.

"… I’m sorry, (Y/N). " Your best friend hugs you and you hide your face in her neck, your brain trying to process what just happened. "Are you okay? "

"… Yeah. " The girls sigh in relief at your response and you shake your head to get out of your thoughts. "I’m fine. "

"And the girls win again! The score’s now tied up a two! Only five more courses left! Bon appetite! "

* * *

You’re all dying on the tables after eating four other disgusting meals. You feel your stomach grumble weirdly, the things you ate wanting to go right out of your mouth every five minutes.

"Wow, it’s still tied up! " You give the host a death glare. "We’re down to the last course in the challenge! It’s delicious dolphin wieners! Hot dogs made of dolphins!"

_Isn’t that… illegal?_

"But dolphins are our friends! " Bridgette screams with horror, clearly not wanting to eat the hot dogs.

"What are you waiting for?" You see Heather shake a bottle of ketchup. "It’s already dead! If you don’t eat it, we don’t win! "

"Oh, I can’t! " Tears gets out of her eyes. "I’m a surfer! I swim with dolphins! "

"Eat it! "

"No! I’m not doing it! You can’t pressure me! "

"I’m with you, sister. " You all look back at DJ, who’s having a serious expression. "I’m not eating no dolphin! "

"Me neither! " You cross your arms on your chest, your two friends imitating you. The three of you stay like that for a long time, Chris staring at you with a very annoyed expression.

"Okay, enough! We’ll solve this by having a need-off! "

* * *

Leshawna and Owen are sitting in front of shots of some disgusting beverage, both having been chosen by the two teams to resolve the tie. You feel a hand on your shoulder and you look behind you to see your boyfriend with a worried expression.

"You’re okay, sugar? I know today’s challenge has been hard for you…"

You give him a sweet smile and kiss his cheek, making him slightly blush for a moment. "I’m fine, babe. Don’t worry about me. "

"Whoever can drink the most shot glasses of fresh delicious blended cockroach will be the winner. " You roll your eyes when the host starts to make the promotion of the blender, the show probably being sponsored by it or something. "On your mark, get set, go! "

Both teenagers start to drink the shots with a shocked face from the taste. You watch them go on at the same speed, none of them being ahead of the other. Then, when there are only three shots left, they both take a pause… but Owen soon starts to drink again and finishes them all, silently putting his arms up in victory while Leshawna falls on the table with disappointment.

"Owen wins! "

_Fuck. I wanted that massage._

"Leshawna, you are completely useless! " You roll your eyes at Heather.

"… something’s coming up! " Leshawna suddenly starts to vomit, not stopping for even a second. Feeling the food about to come out of you, you run out of the lodge and throw uploads of it on the ground, hearing everyone starting to get sick inside of the lodge at the same time.

… You hope you won’t be the one to clean all this.

* * *

"Did you say your goodbyes to Duncan?" You completely ignore Bridgette’s question and hide your face in your novel. The blond girl exchanges a look with Gwen, who throws you her pen that goes right into your forehead.

"Ow! " You send the goth girl a glare, and she only gives you back a smirk. "Yes, I did, okay? He promised to bring me a gift. "

"Awn, I knew it, girl! " You blush when you hear Leshawna’s voice, the brown girl coming to pinch your cheek. "You guys are so cute together, you know?"

"Sh-shut up! " You hide behind your book again, not wanting to face your friends. They all laugh at you and you blush more, but they suddenly stop when you hear the door handle move, someone then knocking angrily on the door.

"Are you serious!? You shut us out!? Let me in! Let me in, now! "

"You…" Your eyes open wild. "You closed the door on Heather and Lindsay? "

Gwen and Leshawna smirk and Bridgette looks down at the floor with a sad face. You sigh and shake your head before you get up to open the door.

Why can’t girls get along?


	16. TDI: No Pain No Game

**Chapter Fifteen: No Pain No Game**

You’re sitting on the grass beside Leshawna, drawing some rough sketches of nature while she eats her chips. You look up from your notebook when you feel deadly vibes around you and see the brown looking aggressively at Heather and Lindsay, both girls trying to read their magazines in peace. You turn your head on the other side and see Bri’ and Gwen also sending the same glare and yu sigh with annoyance, closing your notebook and standing up.

"Alright, girls, I’m bored. " You get out a deck of cards from your pocket and start to shuffle it. "Let’s play a game together, alright? It’ll ease the tension. "

"Oooooh, what kind of game? " As Gwen and Bridgette come over, you give Lindsay a bright smile.

"You know the game _Bullshit?_ "

"Yeah, but I’m not playing with bitchy miss here. " Leshawna points to Heather, who gives her an annoyed look.

"Well, I don’t want to play with you either, you jerk! "

"Guys, guys." Your best friend gets her hands up and smiles sweetly. "Let’s just try (Y/N)’s suggestion, alright? It’s better than waiting for the boys to come back and rub their weekend in our faces."

"I agree. " Gwen smiles at you as Leshawna and Heather groans, accepting to play for now.

"I don’t know the game... What're the rules? " You sit down on the ground with everyone, continuing to shuffle the cards before you answer Lindsay’s question.

"All the cards are dealt out to the players; some may have more than others, but not by much. The objective is to get rid of all your cards. On the table is a discard pile, which starts empty. A turn consists of discarding one or more cards face down on the pile and calling out their rank. The first player must discard Aces, the second player discards twos, the next player Threes, and so on. After Tens come Jacks, then Queens, then Kings, then back to Aces. "

"That seems boring. " You smirk at Heather’s comment and continue.

"Since the cards are discarded face down, you do not have to play the rank you are calling. For example, if it is your turn to discard Sevens and you don't have any, you will be forced to play some other card. But if any player who suspects that the cards discarded by a player do not match the rank called, they can challenge the play by calling "Bullshit!". Then the cards played by the challenged player are exposed and one of two things happens: if the cards are all the same as the rank that was called, the challenge is false, and the challenger must pick up the whole discard pile. But if any of the playing cards are different from the called rank, the challenge is correct, and the person who played the cards must pick up the whole discard pile. "

Leshawna nods at your explanation, agreeing with you.

"After the challenge is resolved, the game continues in normal rotation: the player to the left of the one who was challenged plays and calls the next rank in sequence. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the game. If you play your last remaining cards, but someone challenges you and the cards you played are not what you called, you pick up the pile and the game continues. "

"Alright. " Heather squint her eyes as you start to give everyone their cards. "Let’s do this. "

* * *

"Three cards of three. "

"One card of four. "

"Three cards of five. "

"Two cards of six. " When Lindsay’s about to put down her cards for the next round, you take her hand to stop her and send a suspicious glare to Gwen.

" _Bullshit._ " The goth girl turns her two cards around to show two cards of six, everyone laughing at you.

"Gotta take all the cards now, (Y/N)."

"Yeah, yeah, I know… Oh my god! So many of you cheated! "

"It’s your turn now, Lindsay. "

"Okay! Four cards of seven! " You all blink your eyes, Bridgette being the one to open her mouth.

"… Bullshit. "

"Ah, no! You got me! " The blond takes back her cards, pouting. She doesn’t know how to play this game properly, which makes you wonder how she doesn’t have all the cards in her hands right now. You all continue to play for a while, Lindsay suddenly smacking Heather’s face when a fly got on her nose.

"Lindsay, you’re such a-" The black-haired girl gets cut off by a loud boat sound, making all of you jump out of your skin. You look back at the dock of shame to see the boys dancing like crazy on top of their boat, you quirking an eyebrow when you see them slide their way down.

"What a weekend! "

"Wou-hou! Oh, sweet mother of mirth! You can’t buy that kind of fun! "

"I think Owen and DJ took a real shine from those lovely ladies who served us hand and foot. " Your face turns to a bored one when you hear your boyfriend say those words, looking back at your game and putting down cards.

"Three of eight. " The girls instantly goes back to the game with you, ignoring the boys.

"Ah-ah! " Heather points at you with a smirk. "Joke’s on you, (Y/N)! I got two eights! So I call Bullshit! "

"Oh, you sure? " Your smirk appear before you turn your cards to reveal two eights and one joker. "I got a joker, which can be any card. I think you’ll have to take the whole pile now, Heather. "

" _ **No!**_ "

All the girls laugh while Heather reluctantly takes the pile, going from one card to twenty-four. Meanwhile, the boys are frowning at you all, not believing that you don’t care that they got a special weekend… but Owen simply shrugs and goes to you all.

"Hey, anyone care for a chocolate-coated cherry blossom? "

"No thanks, Owen. " Leshawna gives him a death stare. "Can’t you see we’re busy? "

"Yeah, I gotta find a way to get back at (Y/N) for what she just did. "

"You’re the one who called bullshit, Heather. "

"Shut up! "

"It’s okay, dude. " Geoff arrives beside Owen and puts a hand on his shoulder. "The ladies are just a little jealous. "

"Yeah, who can blame them? " You wish you could wipe off the smug on Duncan’s face. "They can barely stand each other and meanwhile, us guys are tight as a family!"

Bridgette puts down a card, going with the silent plan of ignoring the boys. "One of nine. "

"Two of ten. "

"Two of eleven. " Gwen’s about to say that she wins when you point aggressively at her.

"Bullshit! "

"Nope! " She turns her cards to show two eleven and you all scream.

"No way! She won? "

"How is that possible!? "

" _Guess what, campers._ " Chris’ voice is heard all around the camp. " _As of right now, all teams are officially dissolved. From here on end, it’s every camper for themselves_!"

You look back at the boys with a smirk and the girls chuckle darkly. "What did you guys just say? You’re like a tight family? "

Duncan clears his throat and looks elsewhere, crossing his arms as the other boys imitate him. "Well, uh… it’s about time we flew solo. "

You playfully laugh and stand up, walking over to the punk guy and putting your arms around his shoulders to kiss his cheek.

"I missed you. " The boy grins and takes a hold of your waist to hug you closer, grabbing your lips with his to savor you for as long as he can. When you need to breathe, he gets away and sighs with contentment, you simply giggling.

"I missed you too. " He pecks your lips slightly. "I wish you could have come with us."

"Get a room! " Duncan sends his middle finger to Heather while he kisses you again, making you laugh right after.

You missed him.

"Oh, I’m ready for this! " Leshawna gives a side mean look to Heather. "Bring it on, Chris! "

" _Then get ready for this!_ " There’s another loud boat sound and you look back at the water with gasps. You feel your heart tighten in a bad way and you grab Duncan, fearing for your life. You watch the boat approaches with the terrifying girl on it, deadly flames following her.

"What? But that’s impossible! "

"Oh, man! What is she doing here?! "

" **Duncan.** " Your eyes open wild and you feel his arms bring you even closer to him.

"I won’t let her approach you, don’t worry. "

" _Back by popular audience demand, it’s Eva!_ "

"That’s right, I’m back! " The monster jumps on the dock, walking slowly towards all of you with angry fists. "And just so we’re clear, not only am I gonna kick butt, but I’m giving special attention to my backstabbing Bass team who voted me off! "

She gives you and Bridgette the most intense death stares you’ve ever seen, feeling your body starting to tremble as Duncan stares back at her with grinding teeth.

"Wait a minute! " Gwen gives a suspicious look to an absent Chris. "You said no one is allowed back! "

" _… I did?_ "

"And once you leave on the dock of shame and then on the boat of losers, you can never, never ever, ever come back! "

"Yeah, that’s true! " You look around to try and found Chris, but you can’t see him. "You say that in every episode! "

" _Oh yeah, that. Yeah… I lied._ "

"You can’t do that! It’s not fair!"

"Woah, girl! " Leshawna arrives beside Gwen and puts her hand on her shoulder. "You’re reasoning with a loud-speaker. That just does not look good! "

You hide your face in Duncan’s chest when you see Eva come at you, the girl deciding to stop between you two and Bridgette and stares at the blond with loud breathing. Your best friend turns around and gives her an awkward smile.

"So, Eva… what have you been doing since you’ve… left the island…?"

"Taking anger management classes. " She then points at you. "I think I remember you saying I needed them! "

" **You almost killed her**. " You stop breathing when you see her glare at your boyfriend, who only stare back at her and almost growl. "I personally think you should be in an asylum. "

"What did you say to me!? "

"… She was an audience favorite? " Heather looks at the loud-speaker with a suspicious look.

" _Not really. But we liked her! Also returning to camp… it’s Izzy!_ "

"Oh no! " Eva, Bridgette, and Lindsay turn back at the ginger-haired girl, who’s coming screaming on a liana. You simply smile, not bothered that she’s back since you’ll be able to act a little crazy with her.

"Hey, guys! " She lands in front of you with a bright smile. "It’s good to be back at camp, even though I never actually left the island. I’ve been living in the woods all this time! "

"But I thought the RCMP was hunting you down? " Izzy’s smile grows at Gwen’s question.

"They tried! But being a wilderness survivor, I was swiftly flooded in avoiding capture!" She gets a dead fish out of her pocket and eats his head. "Once I was safe around my animal brotherhood, it was just me against the harsh elements! "

"You call this harsh? " Leshawna gives her a suspicious face. "It has been warm and sunny all week! "

"Not where I was! But luckily, I was able to take refuge in the beaver dam. Yeah, I befriended the family of beavers who lived there and together, we forged for nuts and berries, aha! Boy, I could use a bag of nachos right now! " She howls like a wolf and laugh. "Anyway! What’s new with you guys? "

" _Alrighty, campers. Report to the amphitheater where you’ll learn all about this week’s challenge. Mclean out!_ "

"Woohoo! Another challenge! Party!" You and Duncan give Owen a weird look when he puts his hand up for a high five. "Give me ten! "

"Uh, dude. You heard the loudspeaker. It’s every camper for themselves." Duncan walks away with you, his arm around your shoulder as you send him a weird look.

"So… you’re saying that we’re not gonna help each other? " He looks down at you with a smile and shakes his head playfully at your question.

"Of course we’re gonna help each other. " He kisses your temple and you feel yourself smile in relief. "I’ll do everything for you to stay here with me, alright?"

You chuckle happily, the doubt getting out of your mind. "Alright. "

* * *

All of you girls are sitting on your respective beds, Leshawna preparing Izzy’s. That’s when Eva comes in and you all lose your smiles.

"What’s with the tape? Somebody better answer me! "

"Me and Heather got a little… territorial. " Heather gets down to take off the tape while Leshawna talks. "But we’re all cool now… right, Heather? "

"Absolutely! You want my bunk, Eva?" She smiles excessively at her, but the Eva goes straight to your shared bunk beds with Bri. The girl takes your best friend’s surfboard in her hands and throws it on the ground.

"I want this one. " She points aggressively at Bridgette. "Unless miss backstabbing traitor who’s voted me off has a problem with that. "

She looks up at you and you shiver in fear.

"Or maybe this back-stabbing traitor has a problem! "

"Okay, you know what? " Leshawna gets in Eva’s face, not having her bullshit. "You can get all up in our face, but don’t forget that we are all here to win! "

"Oh yeah, you’ve got that right Go-friend! "

"Oh, tell me the macho mama with butt cheeks tighter than my weave did not just say that! "

"Woah! " Gwen jumps down in front of them. "Time out! "

"Can’t we just talk this out over local snacks? " You nod at Lindsay’s question while everyone blinks at her, not believing that she just said something normal for once.

"Whatever. I’m still gonna win! " Eva leaves the cabin with rage, Bridgette putting her hand on Leshawna’s shoulder and smiling at her.

"Hey, thanks for stepping in. I don’t think (Y/N) and I would have been able to take it. "

"Oh, _my_ pleasure, honey. "

* * *

"Welcome to your next challenge! The time-honored game of torture!"

You give Chris a boring look as you’re all sitting down on chairs up on the amphitheater, the whole thing looking like a normal game show on TV. You’re sitting between Leshawna and Heather, your boyfriend up behind you while Eva’s in the front row.

"You are all about to be put through the task of endurance so insane that some of them sent interns to the emergency room! If you back down from the challenge or do not last the required ten seconds, you will be eliminated. The winner will not only be safe from elimination but will win this luxurious trailer! Yours to take home at the end of the summer."

You gasp when you see the white trailer, all kinds of thoughts attacking your brain in one second.

"I want it! " You look back at your boyfriend. "We gotta win this, babe! "

He smirks at you. "Why? Are you having ideas? "

You understand what he’s talking about and you smirk back. "Maaaaaybe."

"What kind of torture? " You get your attention back at Chris, who’s smiling at Leshawna’s question.

"Why don’t you ask my lovely assistant? " He points to Chef, who’s wearing a killer mask and holding an ax in his hand. "Alright. Let’s do this! Duncan, you’re first up! Let’s spin the wield of misfortune to select your torture! "

When the psychopath spins the wield, you secretly hope that the torture will not be too harsh on your boyfriend. After a few seconds, the red arrow stops on the picture of a turtle.

"Turtle pock shots! " Chris puts his hand on Duncan’s shoulder, who’s staring in the void with no expression. "Our interns spent weeks collecting the grumpiest, angriest, crustiest, hungriest snapping turtles on the island! While you stand in the goalie net completely unprotected, Chef will fire off turtle snapshots. "

You hide your mouth when you see the turtles biting the air with their sharp teeth, asking yourself what kind of torture you’ll all get and if you’ll survive them. You feel fear grab your heart when you see Chris push your boyfriend in front of the net, stopping yourself from screaming for them to stop.

"If you can stay in for ten seconds, you’ll go on to the second round. "

You watch the turtle getting thrown to the punk guy, your boyfriend screaming as he stands there. When the alarm goes off, he falls onto the ground, the turtles still biting him.

"And Duncan moves on to the next round! Isn’t this fun? " The green-haired boy gives Chris an annoyed look.

"Yeah, it’s a riot. "

"Duncan! You’re okay? " He sends you a thumbs up as Chef takes the turtles off him.

"Next up: Lindsay! Your torture is…" The host spins the wield again and it stops on a picture of a marshmallow. "Marshmallow waxing! We’re gonna wax every part of your body! If you can take the pain for a full ten seconds, you can go on the next level."

"Oh, I so need this! Try not to wax off my tan, okay? "

All the boys hide their face when they hear Lindsay’s muffled screams under the marshmallows, you and the girls simply cringing from remembering how much waxing hurts. When Chef puts the white gooey thing out of her face, she touches her upper lip and smile.

"Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how smooth that is! Thanks, Chip! "

"It’s Chris. " Lindsay loses her smile and awkwardly goes back to her seat. "Anyway… Well done, Lindsay! Since you didn’t even complain once, you get to choose who goes next!"

"No thanks! " Eva suddenly grabs her hair and whispers in her ear. "Oh, huh… I changed my mind… I choose… Bridgette… with the leeches… because she’s a back-stabbing lie traitor… grrr…"

You and your best friend exchange a panic look as Chef puts down a barrel full of leeches. Eva looks up at Bridgette with an angry face.

"It’s payback time, traitor! " She turns to you and you feel yourself stop breathing. "Next time, it’s for you, (Y/N)! "

"Okay, Bridgette. Get your butt in the barrel of leeches! "

"No, wait! " You all look back at Geoff, who just got up from his seat. "I’ll take her place! "

"Awwwwn! " Lindsay smiles sweetly. "That’s so romantic! "

_And incredibly stupid._

"Oh! " Chris’ smile grows wider. "And if your victim can last ten seconds without saying “uncle”, you get eliminated instead! Which means you lose your chance to win the trailer! "

You all watch Geoff walk down to the barrel of leeches with a chill smile, finally getting in. After a few seconds, he loses his smile and gets a terrified expression before jumping out, screaming in agony.

"Ooooh, close, Geoff. Nine and nine one-hundred thousands of a million- Whatever. It’s not ten. You’re out! You can return to your new seat! "

As Geoff’s goes to his torturing looking seat, you ask yourself if you’re gonna be able to survive all the torture. You look around for a bit until your eyes set on the white trailer, feeling the determination flowing into your veins.

You’re gonna win this thing no matter what.

* * *

"Our next torture will be… spending ten seconds in a wooden crate with Sasquatchanaqwa! Tough one! Bridgette, you haven’t complained in a while, so you can choose the next victim! "

The blond girl looks up from her whole body covered in bees, everyone starting to chant the name “Eva” at her. Right now, only DJ and Geoff are eliminated, but you’re sure that everyone will go down soon. After a while, Bridgette nods to show that she agrees to choose Eva. Angrier than before, the tough girl goes straight into the crate without fear and you hear screams from the creature. She gets out wearing a hat and boots made from it, smirking proudly at you and Bridgette.

"Eva stock it out, so Bridgette is out of the game! Reckless choice by Bridgette, but still, let’s give her props for sticking it for a teammate! Now, let’s see who showed less courage than Eva and called Uncle! "

You frown, wondering what Chris is talking about, but then you understand that he’s probably going to put a montage of all the people losing the torture challenges.

Hopefully, you won’t be one of them.

* * *

You watch Chef approach Izzy with an electric eel, everyone being eliminated except for you, Eva and the ginger girl. When the ex-soldier electrocutes Izzy, she simply laughs and asks him to do it again.

"Izzy, who’s your next victim? "

"Oh, me! With the poison Ivy spa treatment! "

Okay, maybe you shouldn’t try to be friends with her. You watch Chris get a phone call and start to talk with the producers about the situation, ending the conversation after a while and looking back at Izzy.

"Okay, the judges will allow it… but they wanna know why. "

"I just wanna see how it feels! "

"Alrighty then. "

You hide your face with your hands, not believing how crazy that girl is.

* * *

"Time’s up. Chef, remove the Poison Ivy! "

"Nah…nah… it feels great! "

"… You stock it out… but sadly, you eliminated yourself! " The host walks over to you and Eva. "Alright, after twenty rounds of torture, we’re down to two steady competitors and the sudden death round. "

For once, you don’t shiver under Eva’s stare and simply smile evilly at her, your eyes looking crazy. There’s no way you’re not gonna let her win that trailer. No way.

"Okay, let’s say that (Y/N) is up. If she wins her challenge, Eva’s eliminated, alright?" You both nod at Chris’ words. "Alright. (Y/N), it’s up to you. Your next challenge is… the grizzly bear log roll. "

_What?_

* * *

You blankly stare at a big brown bear standing on a log roll, feeling like the animal is smirking at you.

"Molotov the bear. Performs with the international circus and has been the European log rolling champion for the past twelve years. To win, you must last ten seconds on the log while avoiding certain death in the piranha-infested water. "

_Oh fuck._

"(Y/N), you could back out now! " You turn your blank stare at Chris, blinking your eyes at him for a long moment before you smirk.

"Hell no. I’ve faced death a lot of times before. It’s not a bear and some piranhas that are gonna scare me. "

You go on the log roll and slightly lose your smirk when you feel yourself losing your balance a little. When you feel like you can stand on it, you look back at a smiling Chris.

"And… go! "

The bear immediately starts to walk on the lodge, making you step back at the same speed as him to not fall in the water. Not only do you have the fear of being eating alive, but you’re also scared of drowning again!

You look at the smirking bear, silently asking him to not throw you in the water. Then, you remember that if you lose this, Eva will have immunity… which makes your face changes to a deathly one. With the determination in your body, you get enough strength to inverse the roles between you and the bear. You grind your teeth, watching the brown animal lose his smirk and looking at you with a scarred face.

When you hear the end of the challenge, you stop the lodge and make the bear fall in the water instead. You feel your face twist into a bright smile.

"I did it! "

"(Y/N) wins! So, Eva is out! "

"What!? No way! " Chef helps you get back on the dock as Eva screams at Chris, the host pushing her away with his usual smile.

"Way! She wins the challenge, invincibility, and the grand prize! "

You jump up and down from happiness, looking around to spot your new white trailer. You scream with joy and run to it, hugging Chef as tight as you can before admiring your award. You look back at all the contestants and send your boyfriend a bright smile that he returns happily, although he’s trapped in his torture seat.

"While (Y/N) checks out her trailer full of food and we check out her blood pressure, the rest of you can go to the confessional booth and vote off a camper… other than (Y/N). "

"Not like any of you would have voted for her anyway. " You give Chef a surprised look, realizing after that you’ll have to vote for someone.

Well, guess your choice is pretty obvious.

* * *

"Okay. So first up, we ran out of marshmallows-"

"No! " You cringe when you hear Owen’s scream, putting your head back on Duncan’s shoulder as he hugs your waist.

"I’ve reviewed the confessionals and I have to say, there’s lots of hate on in this group! Which is awesome! While I normally protect your privacy, in the spirit of hearing your dirty laundry, I’m gonna go live with your confessionals! "

_Oh god, no!_

A screen appears beside the host and you all look at it. Heather’s the first one to pop up, the girl showing a picture of Eva where she drew red horns and a beard on it.

" _There’s no other choice than rageaholic Eva._ "

It then moves on to Duncan, who has his arms crossed.

" _I vote for Heather, because I know she’s behind Courtney getting kicked off. You’ll pay for that, toots!_ " He smiles at the camera. " _If you’re watching this on cable, me and (Y/N) miss you, babe._ "

You smile at his words and go closer to him, kissing his cheek and making him smile. You look back at the screen to see Gwen.

" _Eva’s a weirdo, so… see ya_. "

" _Please, please, Eva!_ " Bridgette is praying on the screen. " _I’m so glad you never hear these._ "

" _Eva’s nuts._ " DJ shrugs his shoulders. " _Sorry girl_. "

" _It’s gotta be Eva!_ " Geoff loses his smile and starts to think. " _Unless I can figure out who stole my other lucky hat._ "

" _I just can’t get over how smooth this is! Anyway._ " Lindsay looks at the camera. " _I vote off Eva cause she’s scarier than Heather, Lekwesha and Gwen combined._ "

When you see yourself up on the screen, you stop breathing.

" _It’s kind of funny that I always say that I’ll vote for myself and never do_ _it_ _. Anyway, I think it’s clear, no? I vote for Eva. She almost killed me last time and she spent all day being mean to everyone, especially to Bridgette and myself. So yeah, Eva needs to go._ " Everyone gives you a surprised look, surprised to hear that you always want to vote for yourself while you feel Eva’s death stare. You simply ignore her, almost jumping when you see the tough girl appear very close to the camera on the screen.

" _Unless they wanna leave begging, they better not say my name. I vote for Heather._ " You all look back at Eva, your boyfriend smirking proudly at her.

"Lots of dirt reveal there, huh? But in the end, it was still six votes against Eva! So, adios! "

"What!? " She’s suddenly in Chris’ face, pointing at him angrily. "This isn’t the end of me! You better watch your backs! I’m not done! I’ll get my revenge! "

* * *

You’re all watching her leave on the boat, Chris and Chef having to restrain her in a jacket for the crazy people.

"I’m not done with you! Oh, and Izzy lied! She wasn’t in the woods! She was-"

"Woah, aha! She has issues, huh?" Izzy awkwardly laughs and pushes you on the way to your white trailer. "Let’s all go party in (Y/N)’s new crib! "

Everyone instantly agrees and follows you two, feeling yourself laugh and just shrugging it off. You give your boyfriend a look and he simply smirks, knowing damn well that you’re going to share your award with him for the rest of the competition.

* * *

"Goodnight everyone! "

You wave at all the people leaving your trailer after two hours of talking, playing and eating the food that was in your truck. You chuckle when you see one of them trip on their way back to the cabins, everything being too dark for them to see properly. You feel arms get around your waist and a nose tickling your skin, making you chuckle and close the door. You turn around to put your arms around Duncan’s neck, instantly feeling his lips on yours and intertwining your tongues. You slightly moan when you get pressed against the door, feeling him smirk against your face. Both of you stop to breathe and Duncan immediately goes to bite your neck forcefully as you snap your head back, your fingers digging into his shoulders from the pain. You whimper when his hands grab your ass and you feel his teeth cut deeper into your shoulder.

" _D-Duncan…_ " You squeak when he licks the blood on your skin, the boy leaving the marks he just made with a smirk and come back to your lips. With the help of his hands and the wall, you manage to wrap your legs around his waist, hearing him grunt when you tighten your grip. He leaves your mouth alone and puts his forehead against yours, his deep blue eyes looking right into your (E/C) ones.

"You want to do this? " You just smirk.

"You got protection? " He smirks back.

"Always. "

"Then I’m ready."

He kisses you again and your legs leave his waist, both of you walking away from the door to your new bed. The rest of the night is up to your imagination.


	17. TDI: Search and Do Not Destroy

**Chapter Sixteen: Search and Do Not Destroy**

You wake up with the feeling of lips on yours, a smile stretching out on your face as you deepen the kiss. You feel your boyfriend’s hand cup the side of your cheek, hugging your body closer to his with his arm around your waist. Your own hands come upon his chest and you hear him groan, probably wanting more. You stop the kiss and laugh when he pecks your lips two other times before he finally rests his forehead against yours.

"Good morning to you too, I guess. " He smiles and opens his eyes to watch your face. "What time is it?"

"Probably six am or something. " You gasp at his response and hit his chest, making him laugh.

"Why did you wake me up so early? I could have slept longer! "

"’ Cause I was bored and you were taking too long to wake up." You playfully shake your head at his smirk, pouting at him. He tries to kiss you again, but you get out of his grip and sit on your bed.

"No! No more kisses for you! " You cross your arms on your chest and pout more, hearing him chuckle behind you. You feel him sit up on the bed, his arms getting around your body as he puts his head on your shoulders.

"Awn, come on, (Y/N). Don’t be all grumpy. " He kisses your neck and hugs you closer, grinning when he sees you blush. "Smile for me, will ya? "

"No. I’ll be as grumpy as I want. "

"Good. " Your frustrated face transforms into a surprised one, and Duncan takes the opportunity to kiss your cheek. "I like grumpy you. You make such cute faces."

"S-shut up! "

Your reaction only makes him chuckle again and you roll your eyes in annoyance, knowing perfectly that you’re not gonna win.

* * *

You’re reading outside on a chair now, drinking some coffee as Duncan listens to his music on another chair beside you. It’s been an hour since you’ve woke up and the two of you have changed clothes and eaten some food. You’re taking another sip from your coffee when you feel a loud explosion behind you, screaming and dropping your items on the ground. You look back at your white trailer to see it in flames, exchanging a panic look with your boyfriend. You notice that Duncan has also dropped his headphones on the ground, his whole face in shock from what just happened.

" _Arg, maties! Meet me at the amphitheater in five minutes and I’ll tell you about today’s challenge!_ "

Your panic face instantly turns into an angry one.

"Chris destroyed my trailer! " Duncan blinks for a few seconds, his scared expression dropping to reveal a smirk.

"Guess we’re going back in the cabins, huh? "

"Duncan, our things are burning! "

He loses his smirk and runs over to the trailer with you, the two of you trying your best to retrieve your things from the flames.

* * *

You and Duncan leave your luggage besides the amphitheater then sit down on the benches with annoyed expressions. Duncan gives Chris a boring face while you cross your arms and send him a death glare. He destroyed your trailer with a cannonball! A cannonball! And why is he wearing a pirate outfit? And why is there a fake parrot on his shoulder?

"Well, my little scallywags. Have we got an adventure in store for ye! " The parrot on the host’s shoulder falls and he puts it right back up with a smile.

"What’s under the sheet? " Geoff’s question makes you realize that there are indeed some things under a long white sheet right in between Chris and Chef.

"All in good time, lad! Who here has an anchor for a good old fashion treasure hunt? " You all roll your eyes in boredom. "Now, this treasure hunt got a twist, maties! What you’re looking for isn’t hidden and it isn’t treasure! "

"If there’s no treasure, then what’s with the eye patch and the plastic parrot? " Duncan puts his hand under his chin, clearly bored out of his mind.

"Arg! Shiver me timbers! Good question, me boy! You’re looking for keys for a treasure chest! " As Chris finishes, you see Chef throw the white sheet away to reveal sparkling treasure chests, all of them requiring a key of some sort. "Inside each of these chests is a treasure that will pamper you land lovers! And one of these chests will even give you invincibility! Ha-arg! Now come ‘round and pull a clue out of this bucket! Or you’ll have to walk the plank! "

You all come on the stage and pick a wooden block with different designs on them. You look at Duncan’s one to see a picture of a key inside a circle of fire, then you look down at the one in your hand. You frown.

Is that a picture of Chris?

"These clues will tell ye where your key be stored! "

"Ah, but… bear?!" Owen screams with fear, Chris instantly popping in front of him and talking with his normal voice.

"I was hoping you’d get that one, dude. " The host notices Heather’s clue and laughs. "Ah-ah, Chef’s fridge! Nice! I hear he brushes it daily for fingerprints! "

He then disappears and arrives right behind Geoff.

"That there is the septic tank for the washrooms! "

"Huh… Chris? " He looks back at you with his fake bright smile, walking towards you as you question him with your face. "Why does my clue have your face on it?"

You regret your question when you see his eyes spark again.

"Oh-oh! I’m so happy you got that one, (Y/N)! " He gets out a necklace from under his pirate shirt and shows it to you, seeing a key on it. "You’ll have to try and snatch the key from me! "

_How the fuck am I gonna do that?_

"All of you scallywags! Go find your keys and bring them back by six pm eastern standard time to open up the chest and get your loot! Fairly well, young scallywags! Go get to it! "

You watch everyone walk away as you cross your arms and stare at Chris, trying to think of a way to snatch the key from him. You feel an arm get around your shoulders and you don’t even have to look to know that it’s your boyfriend.

"How are you gonna take the key from Chris? " Duncan quirks an eyebrow at you, really wondering if you’ll even be able to pass the challenge. Your eyes blink a few times, your brain almost burning from how fast you’re thinking. You watch the host sit on a chair and open a magazine, you finally giving your boyfriend a small smile.

"I’m gonna try to ask with kindness. " After hearing your words, he smirks and shakes his head playfully at you.

"That’s not gonna work. "

"Doesn’t mean I can’t try! " You walk up to Chis, smiling brightly at him as he simply ignores your shadow on him. "Hey, Chris. Can I have th-"

"No. " He turns his page to continue to read and you pout, walking back to a laughing Duncan. You send him a glare, feeling embarrassed that your first attempt failed so bad.

"I told you it wouldn’t work. "

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up. Like you have a better idea. "

"I do, actually. " You quirk an eyebrow at him. "Remember the strategy we used to win in the dodgeball challenge? "

"Your "rush the new guy" technique? What about i- Oh. " His smile grows when he sees you understand his logic. "You want us to rush Chris? That might work."

He turns you around and slightly pushes you towards the host. "Go talk to him in the front. I’ll circle and tackle him from the back so you can take his key. "

* * *

The psychopath host looks up from his magazine to see you watch him with a bright smile, being extremely awkward. He chuckles at this new attempt from you and closes his paper, his wide smile judging you.

"It’s still a no, (Y/N). You’re gonna need to be fiercer than that if you want this key. " Your fake smile grows and it hurts your face.

"What key? " You cross your fingers behind your back as you watch your boyfriend come up behind the pirate. "I just came here to talk! How are you feeling today, Chris?"

A suspicious glow passes through the host’s eyes, Chris still wearing his usual big smile as he wonders what you’re preparing.

"I’m feeling great… Wh- AH! " He screams out of surprise when Duncan jumps on him, the host managing to throw himself out of the way and letting the deviant boy crash on the chair instead. "Ah-ah! I see what’s happening here! But ye won’t catch me, maties! "

"He’s running away! " You run after Chris, your boyfriend groaning in pain before he gets up from the ground and follows you close behind. You try your best to catch up to the host, feeling yourself grin when you see him run around one of the cabins. You look behind you and silently tell Duncan to go the other way around, both of you then managing to trap the host.

_You can’t run now._

"Give her the key, Chris." The fake pirate laughs, constantly turning his attention between you and Duncan.

"You’ve got me, you scallywags! But I won’t let you have me key! "

"I don’t think you have a choice, now…" You approach Chris with slow steps, then frown when you see him get out a weird object from his pocket. You and Duncan run to him when you see that he’s about to throw it on the ground, having an idea of what he’s gonna do.

"Don’t you dar-"

" _Goodbye, maties!_ "

As soon as the bomb hist the ground, a big cloud of thick white smoke gets out and consumes Chris entirely, making you and Duncan cough for a long time. You hide your nose and your mouth with your sleeve to try to breathe, moving your hand around to dissolve the smoke. Once it completely disappears, you exchange an angry look with the punk guy, the host being gone.

"Awn, come on! That’s cheating, Chris! " You hear Duncan chuckle and feel him kiss your cheek, the boy putting his arm around your shoulders.

"We’ll get him next time. " You shake your head at Duncan’s words.

"No, he knows we’re coming. I need to think of another way to get that key. " A list of possible scenarios form in your head, making you smile brightly at Duncan before you kiss him. "I’ll go check the boathouse for something, you go get your key. "

"Suit yourself. " He pecks your lips before he walks away from you, sending you a grin. "But babe, if you need me, just scream my name. "

You laugh. "Yeah, sure. Will do, honey. "

* * *

" _How is there no rope_ _in_ _here!?_ "

You angrily scream at the mess you’ve made, the whole boathouse looking like there was a carnage not too long ago. You grab your head in your hands, your brain feeling like it’s on fire as you’re trying your best to think of where there could be some rope.

That’s when you hear voices outside.

"Um, Heather? What do I do with this rope now? "

"Just leave it there! Why are you asking me?! "

Your eyes open wildly, the adrenaline kicking in your veins as you run out of the entrance and see Heather and Lindsay. You spot the object you need in the blond hands, coming up to their way with a creepy smile.

"Hey, guys! Are you done with this rope? " Your voice is very high, the nervousness almost killing you. Lindsay smiles back at you and hands you the rope, but Heather takes it back before you can even touch it.

"No, we’re not! "

You pout at her. "Awn, come on! I need it to do my challenge! "

"Exactly!" She frowns and points at you. "I don’t wanna risk you getting another invincibility pass!"

You blink at her, your thoughts once again working up too fast.

"… do you remember where I gotta find my key? " She rolls her eyes at you and Lindsay simply watches in silence, worried.

"Of course not. What? Are you the one who has that bear thing? "

"Noooo. I have to take the key from _Chris_. "

Lindsay gasps and Heather’s expression immediately changes.

"Oooh, are you telling me you’re gonna hang him down by his feet? In his _own_ TV show? " You grin and nod your head at her, the black-haired girl immediately handing you the rope. "Well, here. Go make some good drama. I already got my key from Chef’s fridge, so I don’t need this anymore. "

You take the rope and give the two girls a bright smile to thank them. You then walk to where you last saw Chris, determination in your veins.

Let’s see if he’ll survive this trap.

* * *

You’re hiding inside the bushes, a tight grip on the rope as you watch Chris walk around the forest in his pirate outfit. You grind your teeth when you hear him whistle some songs, wondering if this is what he does all day while you’re all getting tortured in challenges somewhere. You smirk when you see him approach the pile of leaves, your dark aura getting stronger. As soon as he puts his feet in the pile, you pull on the rope and laugh when you hear him scream in surprise, the host now hanging down by his feet. You get out of your hideout, kicking the fake parrot and his hat on the ground with your foot.

Chris chuckles at you. "You made a trap, lady? Arg! You have lots of resources! "

"If you give me the key, I’ll free you. "

You watch the necklace with the key slowly falling off his neck, the fake pirate catching it before it goes straight to you. He laughs again, making you frown in annoyance at him.

"Not so easy, matie! " He gets out a knife from his pocket and you feel your eyes pop out. "I haven’t said my last words yet! "

He cuts the rope and falls unto the ground, standing upright after to put the necklace back around his neck. You groan in anger, letting go of the loose rope in your hands and crossing your arms over your chest.

"You know what? I bet that everyone’s challenge is _way_ easier than mine! "

"Looks like this mate has figured it out!" He puts his hat and fake parrot back on before continuing to talk with his normal voice. "I thought it’ll be awesome if one of these challenges would be impossible to do. "

"It’s not awesome! "

"Oh, yes, it is! " He walks away from you with his same wide smile. "Better luck next time, scallywag! "

* * *

You watch Chris rest his back on one of the cabins’ walls, texting people on his phone. You squint your eyes at him, feeling your body moving like a cat that is preparing to attack its prey. You stop yourself from groaning in anger, not wanting the fake pirate to notice your presence yet. That’s when you see Trent being dragged away by Lindsay, the two teenagers stopping their walk when Chris interrupts them.

"Trent! Lindsay! How’s retrieving your keys so far?"

"Oh, it was way too easy, dude!" Trent waves at the host and you feel the anger boil inside of you, not happy to hear that his challenge was easy. "I got it in fiv-"

"HUG ATTACK!" You manage to throw yourself on Chris, wrapping your arms and legs around him as he struggles to get out of your grip. As he screams at you to get off him, Trent and Lindsay slowly walk away with awkward expressions on their face.

Let’s just say that they will not try to mess with you in the future.

"(Y/N), let go of me!" You move your hand and try to take the key from the chain around Chris’ neck, but the host spins around and you have to hold onto him again. "Seriously, leave me alone!"

"No!" You feel the key in your hand and your smile stretches wildly. "Ah-ah! I got- AAAH!"

You’ve somehow been pushed on the ground while Chris was spinning, your hand accidentally letting go of the key. You groan in pain and stay on the ground, massaging the top of your head as you get a glimpse of the host wiping dirt off his pirate outfit.

"Man, you’re desperate." He gives you an annoyed look. "You almost ripped my pirate outfit! Do you know how much that thing cost me?"

"Ugh, I don’t care! Just give me the key!" He chuckles darkly at you and you get up, resting your body against the wall when you feel a migraine coming.

"This is an impossible challenge, (Y/N). Everyone’s gonna get their key except for you, isn’t it fun?"

You quirk an eyebrow at him. "… I don’t think you know what "fun" actually means…"

You see him shakes his head playfully before he goes back to his phone, starting to text people again. Meanwhile, your brain rotates around like crazy, trying to find another strategy that would work on the host.

"Alright, Chris." You put your fists on your waist and he looks up at you, the host being curious by the tone of your voice. "You like making deals, right? Let’s make a deal."

"Oh, so you’re going that way, huh?" He closes his phone and puts it in his pocket before he crosses his arms on his chest. "What ye got in mind, mate?"

You roll your eyes at his pirate accent. "Let’s put it that way. If you give me the key, I give you something else."

"Really? Like what? What a teenage girl like you, who comes from a normal and boring family, could give me, a rich actor who can get whatever he wants in five minutes?"

… _I didn’t think of that._

"… how about my eternal friendship?" He straight out laughs at you and you pout, not liking to be joked on.

"Awn, (Y/N), you’re so cute." He pinches your cheek and you push his hand away from your face, still pouting. "You can’t even make a proper deal! Well, guess you’re never getting that key, scallywag!"

"Ugh, stop!" You step back from him and walk away. "I’ll get this key from you, you’ll see!"

He only laughs more."Just face the truth, (Y/N)! You’re losing!"

You grind your teeth and start to mumble as you get closer to the lodge.

"I swear, if my next plan doesn’t work, I’m gonna go crazy." You turn your head to give Chris a mean look, the anger rising when you see him playing on his phone again. "Or maybe I’ll snap and kill him. Then we’ll see who’s too innocent and kind."

* * *

You’re standing in front of Chef in his kitchen, a wooden table separating the two of you as you’re thinking about that next plan…. But you’re simply watching the ex-soldier sleep, your arms crossed on your chest.

"Chef?" You see his face make some moves, the guy almost awake. "Cheeeeeeeef?"

"Ah!" He’s suddenly awake and moves a large knife around, almost scaring you with it. "(Y/N), what are you doing back here? Are you trying to help Heather get her key? I won’t let you!"

"Calm down, Chef." You quirk an eyebrow at his behavior and push his knife away from your face, ignoring the furious glare in his face. "I came here to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" He gives you a suspicious look. "What kind of deal?"

"I need your help to get my key from Chris. You’re the only one he won’t suspect to try and get him."

The big guy smirks at you and shakes his head. "I’m not helping you, girl. I’ve got no reason! Plus, I already have to guard one key here."

Your mind screams in anger, your whole body feeling exhausted from having all of your plans fail. That’s when something pops up in the middle of all the imaginary fire, making your smirk back at Chef.

"What key are you guarding? Cause I’m pretty sure Heather got hers like... two hours ago."

" _What!?_ "

The ex-soldier runs over to his fridge, opening it with force and groaning in anger once he sees that the key is gone. You only keep your smirk, shaking your head with amusement at the adult’s reaction.

"That girl stole it! How is that possible?"

"She probably did it while you were asleep." He turns his head back at you and sends you a death glare, not appreciating your remarks. "But if you want, I can go and steal it back for you."

His scary expression turns into a suspicious one, Chef crossing his arms over his chest as he’s still holding his big knife in his hand.

"Let me guess. Only if I help you get your key, right?"

You smile brightly. "You guessed right! So? Are we gonna help each other?"

There’s a long silence where you just stare at each other… but the ex-soldier eventually sighs and accepts your deal. Your grin stretches out, feeling proud that this insane plan might work.

* * *

"Hello there, Chris."

You watch the ex-soldier approach the host from afar, hiding behind the cabin where you left Chris earlier. The fake pirate looks up from his phone, a surprised glow in his eyes as he welcomes Chef with a bright smile.

"Chef! What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to protect the key in your fridge?"

"Heather already took it." The big guy rests his back on the wall right next to Chris, crossing his arms and looking at the horizon. "So? What did I miss?"

The host chuckles. "Only a couple of failed attempts from (Y/N). That girl has determination, I can tell ya. I wonder what she’ll try next."

_Probably kill you, if that plan doesn’t work._

"You don’t think that she’ll be able to take your key?" Chris’ smile seems to grow even more. "One of her plans might work, you know.

"I’m _sure_ none will."

You feel your fists tighten and you grind your teeth, having a hard time to control yourself and not jump on the host right now.

"Just to be safe, maybe you should give it to me." Chef continues to watch the horizon and Chris gives him a surprised look. "That way she’ll never be able to take it from you."

You smirk with proud when you see the fake pirate starting to think about Chef’s proposition, but you soon lose it when you hear what he says next.

"… she bribed you, didn’t she?"

_How in the world did he-_

"What? Hell no!" Chef laughs awkwardly at the host and Chris smirks at his only friend, shaking his head at the ex-soldier.

"Oh _man!_ She _did_ bribe you! I never thought she would go that far! What is she supposed to do for you, huh?"

"… steal Heather’s key and give it back to me."

"Dammit, Chef!" Both adults look back at an angry you, revealing yourself beside them with your fists on your waist. "You’ve ruined the plan!"

"Sorry, girl." Chef gives you an apologetic smile and Chris laughs at you, your arms crossing over your chest as you pout again.

"That was some great thinking, (Y/N). Too bad I’m smarter than ye!" You send him a glare, but his smile only stretches out more. "Awn, don’t be sad mate!"

" _That pirate accent is not making you look cool,_ _Chris_ _._ "

Chef laughs at your comment and the host gasps in shock, you simply leaving them with a smirk.

* * *

You stare intensely at your boyfriend, the punk guy sitting proudly on the stairs of the Bass cabin with a smirk as he moves his key around his finger. You don’t even have the strength to glare at him, only slowly walking over to him with a tired face.

"You look like you failed multiple times." You ignore his comment and just sit beside him, wrapping your arms around him and hiding your face in his chest. "You’re okay, babe?"

"I’m dead." Your voice his muffled by his shirt, but you sigh with content when you feel his arms around your form and his lips kiss the top of your head. "I swear, Chris Mclean is not human."

"What did you try exactly?"

"Everything!" You get your head out of his chest and give him a desperate look. "I trapped him, fight him, bribed him. Heck, I even bribed Chef and it almost worked! But you know what? I’m tired. So fuck those prizes, I’m giving up."

You hide your face again and snuggle in his arms as you hear him chuckle at your response, the boy soothing your back with his hands.

"Well, that was to be expected. Have you ever seen Chris change his mind or agree to do something for one of us?"

A couple of flashbacks suddenly attack your brain.

* * *

_"Alright! Here is your chicken hat. So, let’s tally up the results... Wait, that’s seven jumpers and two chickens. We’re missing three people."_

_"I’m not jumping without Katie!"_

_"We have to be on the same team, Chris!"_

_Both of the girls proceed to beg Chris over and over, which is annoying him more than anything else. That’s when Izzy puts her hand up._

_"I’ll switch places with her."_

_"Alright, FINE! You’re both on the Killer Bass now. Izzy, you’re on the Screaming Gophers. That means you’re up, girls!"_

* * *

_"Eat it! "_

_"No! I’m not doing it! You can’t pressure me! "_

_"I’m with you, sister. " You all look back at DJ, who’s having a serious expression. "I’m not eating no dolphin! "_

_"Me neither! " You cross your arms on your chest, your two friends imitating you. The three of you stay like that for a long time, Chris staring at you with a very annoyed expression._

_"Okay, enough! We’ll solve this by having a need-off! "_

* * *

You look up at Duncan with a bright smile, your boyfriend not understanding why you’re suddenly acting like that.

"Duncan, you’re a genius! I know exactly what I need to do!" He doesn’t have time to answer you that you’re already kissing him with passion. The deviant boy closes his eyes for a few seconds before you get away from him, running away in joy. He watches you disappear with a dumbfounded expression, not understanding anything.

"Where is she going?" The punk guy jumps out of his skin when he hears Leshawna talk right beside him. "Meh, I’ll talk to her later. Hear me out, Duncan. There’s something nasty that you need to know about our boy Trent."

* * *

You’ve been following Chris around the camp for a few minutes now, always two steps behind him and staring silently at him with a creepy smile. You can tell that your plan is already working because the fake pirate stops in his tracks and looks back at you with an annoyed expression.

"Seriously, (Y/N). Let go. I’m not giving you the key!"

You just stay silent and keep staring at him, not moving an inch when you see the angry glow in his eyes.

"(Y/N), go away."

…

"Are you seriously not going to say anything?"

…

"… you know what? Fine! Here’s your key!" Your smile grows wider when you see the host grab the chain around his neck and throw it at you. "Now stop following me!"

You catch the key with the same smile, happy to see that annoying the fake pirate was a successful plan. You wave at Chris as he leaves, screaming some thanks at him while he simply ignores you. That’s when Leshawna pops up beside you and you scream out of terror, the brown girl looking like she’s right out of a horror movie with the scratches on her body.

"Leshawna, what the heck!?"

"No time to explain, girl." She puts her hands on your shoulders and gives you a serious look. "Trent cheated on Gwen with Heather. You need to vote off one of them tonight."

… _wait,_ _what?_

" _Alright, campers! Meet me back at the camp in ten minutes! And bring your keys!_ "

* * *

When you and Leshawna arrive at the camp, you proudly show your key to Duncan, who congratulates you by putting his arm around your waist and kissing your cheek. You close your eyes with a smile when you feel his lips, actually relieved that you got your key. If Chris had been patient for ten more minutes, you would have completely failed the challenge!

You then smell something really bad and try to stop it by pinching your nose, looking back at Geoff sitting on one of the camps tree trunks. You also notice Izzy walk over to you all with a huge purple snake around her body.

"Hey, guys! Whoo! What stinks?"

"Huh, Izzy. You’ve got a snake on your head." Duncan smirk at the ginger-haired girl and you playfully shake your head, knowing damn well that Izzy’s aware of the snake.

"Oh, I know! But don’t worry, he’s friendly!" The snake suddenly bites her head and you all gasp in shock. "See? Kisses!"

She then falls on the ground and you wonder if she’ll die from poison.

"Arg! It be time to claim your treasure! Who’s fortunate enough to bear your precious key, come forth with it!"

You all walk over to the treasure chests, the host sending you an annoyed look when you show him your key. You try opening some chests with your key, trying to find the one that matches it. You see your boyfriend open one with a smirk, but soon losing it when he gets out a bag of chips and a can of soda. He looks back at Chris.

"Is this the best you can do?" Chris simply sends him finger guns and his usual smile.

"My key won’t open any chests!" You start to panic when you hear Owen talk, wondering if that’s what is happening with you too.

"Oh, yeah…. Ah-ah! I forgot to mention that some of the keys don’t open up any chest!"

"Oh come on!" While Owen whines, you start to count the chests to see if you got a fake key but soon calm down once you see that there are ten chests. That means Owen’s the only one to not have a treasure.

"Oh, and look! An invincibility pass! Lucky me!" You send Heather a glare, being sure that she somehow manipulated Gwen and Trent and created more drama. You kneel in front of another chest, trying your key for another time. When you hear the click sound, you smile, wondering what kind of weird prize you’ll get.

Judging by what the others got, probably something ridiculous...

… but when you open the chest….

"Oh my god! _Oh my god!_ " You take out the most expensive camera you’ve ever seen from the chest, tears of joy swelling up in your eyes as everyone looks back at you. "I can’t believe it! It’s a Nikon D850! This cost, like… 5000$!"

"What!?" Heather gives Chris an angry look. "How does she get something awesome like that?"

"Why not?" Chris shrugs his shoulders and simply smile. "I never thought that she’ll get her key, so I decided to put something that she had always wanted in the chest. Just imagine if she didn’t get the key! She would have been so devastated, ha! But guess what! She _did_ get her key! So let’s say she deserves that gift, alright?"

"Oh, thank you!" You hug the camera and send Chris a bright smile, your boyfriend simply eating his chips beside you. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Ye welcome, mate! " The fake pirate gives everyone a long look. "I hope everyone got the treasure they were looking for… and more! But now, it’s time to do your duty and send one of you off the island for good! So cast your votes! And I’ll see ye back at the campfire after sundown! Arg!"

* * *

You stare at the camera for a long time. "I know Heather somehow manipulated Trent and Gwen into hating each other, so I’m not gonna vote for him. Still sucks that I can’t vote for that fake eyebrow bitch, but hey. Guess I can finally vote for myself! So… yeah! Maybe bye-bye for me!"

* * *

"And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The moment of truth… marshmallow time! You know the routine, whoever who doesn’t get a marshmallow, it’s curtains for you!"

There’s a long silence where you’re all staring back at Chris, who is waiting a while to create suspense for the viewers. You simply roll your eyes and put your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder, his arm hugging your sides. That’s when the host starts to throw the marshmallows at you all while naming you.

"Izzy, Geoff, Gwen, Leshawna, Lindsay, Bridgette, DJ, Duncan, (Y/N), Owen… marshmallows for all of you!" You eat your marshmallow as Chris looks at Trent. "Sorry dude. You’re out."

"That’s right!" Leshawna points to the boy, who’s simply looking back at her with the most intense shocking face in the world. "Take your two times away and back to where you came from!"

"What? But I thought I was getting along so well with everybody!"

"I guess you were wrong." Heather looks at her nails with boredom, Gwen gasping at her.

"You don’t even care, do you!?"

"Hey, just playing the game." She smirks at the goth girl, Bridgette and you sending her death glares.

"Why should you care?" Trent gives Gwen a sad look. "You think I’m a cliche!"

"Where did you get that from?"

"Her!" He points at Heather, who waves at them with the same smirk as before. Gwen rolls her eyes at her and looks back at Trent.

"You know, even after all this, I still didn’t vote you off."

"Me neither!" You raise your hand, finishing to eat your marshmallow.

"Then how did I get the boot?"

"My bad!" Leshawna looks down at her feet with guilt. "I jumped the gun on that one… I told everyone to turn down either you or Heather."

"But tonight…" Heather walks up to the teenagers. "… I’m invincible! So that leaves poor old Trent here."

"Looks like we’ve got played… sorry hon’. "

"Oh no!" Gwen hides her face, but Trent takes her hands in his.

"It’s okay! Whatever happened, happened! At least we know that we’re still okay! … we’re still okay, right?"

She gives him a sweet smile. "Yes."

_Awwwwn._

"Five bucks that they kiss." You look up at your boyfriend when you hear him whisper those words in your ear, making you smirk at him.

"Ten bucks that Chris stops them before they can." He imitates your smirk.

"You’re on." You watch Gwen and Trent approach their face to one another, almost kissing each other when Chris pops up between them.

"Trent! You got an appointment at the dock of shame! And a ticket for the boat of losers! Let’s go." While Chris pushes Trent on the way to the dock (everyone following them), Duncan groans and you laugh, nudging his side.

"You own me ten bucks, babe." He rolls his eyes at you and your smile grows wide.

"Well, you’ll have to wait, cause I don’t have any money right now." You playfully quirk an eyebrow at him, your smirk still on.

"I can accept another type of payment." His smug comes back on his face, the punk guy looking back at you with an intense lusting glint in his eyes.

"I can work with that." You close your eyes when he grabs your lips with his, enjoying the moment for as long as you can before you stop to say goodbye to Trent, the two of you sending him sad smile and waves.

You wish you could have spent more time with the guy and got to know him better, but it’s too late for now. Hopefully, you’ll meet him again in the future.


	18. TDI: Hide and Be Sneaky!

**Chapter Seventeen: Hide and Be Sneaky!**

You’re lying down on the top of a bunk bed, Leshawna and Gwen sitting down right under you. Like always, you’re reading one of your novels while the girls are talking, too into lines about the murder story to notice what’s happening around you.

"Girl, you’ve got to put Trent out of your head." You suddenly get interested in the conversation and look down to see Leshawna trying to comfort a sad Gwen.

"I know! I just miss him so much already!" She looks up at you and you give her a comforting smile. "(Y/N), you know what I mean, right? You must miss Courtney so much!"

"Awn…" Her words force you to make a sad expression, the face of a certain brown-haired girl appearing into your head. "Why you made me remember that? Now I feel miserable."

"At least you got Duncan." The goth girl looks down at her feet, holding her head between her hands. "Must be nice to have two lovers."

You chuckle at her comment. "There are some nice parts.... but the drama, girl… The drama!"

"Oh yeah, we saw that!" Leshawna smirks at you. "We’ve seen how those two almost killed each other for your attention. It was _wild!_ "

You laugh out loud, hiding your face in embarrassment. "They weren’t subtle, weren’t they?"

"I still think you’re luckier than me." Gwen looks in the space with a blank expression. "You’re all happy and having fun while I’m slowly dying inside."

You share a worried look with Leshawna, the brown girl soothing the goth girl’s back.

"Well, baby girl, nothing heals a broken heart like revenge." Leshawna gives her a knowing look, both you and Gwen looking back at her with a smirk.

"Heather is _so_ going to have it for breaking you two apart."

"What about you, (Y/N)?" You quirk an eyebrow at Gwen, not understand what she’s asking you. "Isn’t she the one who’s behind Courtney being kicked off?"

"That’s what Duncan thinks." You shake your head. "She tried to break us off a couple of times, which didn’t work by the way, but I don’t think it’s her. We all know for a fact that no one voted for Courtney that night, and still, she got kicked off! So I think someone messed up with the votes or something."

Gwen and Leshawna share a suspicious look before looking up at you again. "Girl, if no one voted for Courtney, who did you all vote for?"

"Well, I voted for myself, but the others voted for- Oh my god!" You gasp and sit up, a horrified look on your face. "Harold kicked Courtney off the island! He was sick of being bullied by Duncan and when he saw that he got two girlfriends, he messed with the votes and put Courtney away!"

"No, for real?" Gwen looks at you with excitement and Leshawna hides her mouth behind her hands. "Why didn’t he kicked you off on the next episode, then?"

"Cause we’re like brothers and sisters! And I helped him a lot with the bullied thing! In the cooking episode?" You grab your hair, still not believing that you haven’t think about it before. "Ugh! I can’t believe he did that! And now I can’t even confront him about it!"

"Are you gonna tell Duncan?"You sigh and close your eyes.

"No, he’s gonna kill him if he learns about it. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Courtney’s already strangling him or something. God, I miss her."

The girl chuckles at your reaction and you stick out your tongue at them, not liking being joked on. That’s when Chris’ voice comes out.

" _Time for your challenge!_ "

* * *

You’re all standing in front of Chris on the dock of shame, looking back at the host with a bored expression. You’re currently stuck between Leshawna and Duncan, your boyfriend having his arm around your shoulders.

"Today’s challenge is a good old fashion game of hide and seek."

_Oh, nice! I’m the best at that game!_

"You all get ten minutes to hide before Chef Hatchet comes looking for you! With his military background and his advanced degree in man-hunting, he’s uniquely qualified to make this game excruciatingly hard."

Chef gets out a water gun, pumping it up with an evil smile as Duncan smirks at him.

"What’s with the water gun?" He looks at you with the same smirk, but he loses it when you show him the red dot on his forehead.

"The lifeguard chair is home base! When he finds you, Chef will try to spray you. If you escape his splash, you can try to run to home base. But if he catches you on your way, he’ll dice you."

"Ooooh! So we’re gonna get splash by a bit of water, now I’m terrified!" You laugh at your boyfriend’s comment, the deviant boy tightening his grip on you with a proud smug.

"Why don’t you demonstrate, Chef?" You all make terrified faces when you see Chef pumping his water gun, only to see him turn around and shot Chris who ends up far away from all of you, completely soaked.

" _Not on me, dude!_ "

"So... how do we win this game?" Heather watches the host come back with an angry face.

"You got three options. One, don’t get discovered in your hiding place. Two, run to home base before Chef’s splash you. Three, once you’ve been caught, help Chef find other campers. Do any of those and you win invincibility! All clear?"

As Lindsay raises her hand, you share a look with your boyfriend, both of you holding your hands and preparing to run.

"Uuuh-"

"You get ten minutes to hide! Go!"

And that’s how you all start to run to find different places, Duncan pulling you with him into the dark forest.

* * *

You’re sitting beside Geoff and DJ, eating some chips that you find on your way here as your boyfriend pulls Owen in the cave with you all. You smile at the big guy, who sits down on a rock and smile back at you.

"Hey, guys! Great hiding spot! Yeah!"

"Listen, boys. We’re in trouble, okay?" Duncan looks at all of you, a serious expression on his face. "There’s seven chicks on the island and only four dudes."

"I know!" Geoff smiles brightly. "Nice odds!"

You quirk an eyebrow at your blond friend while Duncan hits him in the head, giving the boy a death stare.

"No, butt-brain! Bad odds! If I noticed it, chances are that sooner or later, they are going to notice it too and when they do, they’re gonna pick us off one by one! We’ve gotta do something about it!"

"If you think that’s the case, then why am I here?" The boys look at you eating your chips. "Last time I checked, I’m a girl."

"Cause you’re awesome, dude!" Geoff slightly punches your shoulder, smiling brightly at you. "You’re our friend, no way you’re gonna side with the other chicks!"

"Plus, you’re my girlfriend." The deviant boy wraps his arm around your shoulders and kisses your cheek, making you smile. "And my girlfriend gets a special pass."

"Awwwwn, thanks, guys! You know, I don’t think the girls are going to pick you off one by one."

"Yeah, it’s not exactly like they’re getting along. " DJ raises his finger, pointing at you and Owen. "Remember this morning?"

DJ and Owen shiver in fear when they remember hearing Heather and Leshawna trying to kill each other in the bathroom, you only rolling your eyes at them.

That fight was nothing compared to what girls can do to each other.

"I don’t know, dude." Geoff frowns before giving Duncan a sad smile. "Bridgette and me, we kind of hooked up! I don’t feel right about joining an alliance without her."

You’re about to say that you’re agreeing with Geoff (not wanting to go against your best friend, who faced everything with you) when your boyfriend cuts you off.

"Let me tell you the truth about women. They’re all sisters! And when push comes to shove, they’re gonna stick together! Haven’t you ever seen a chick flit before?"

You chuckle and shake your head playfully. "Oh, boy. You guys don’t know how women work."

Duncan rolls his eyes at you. "Look, man. Now’s the time while they don’t see it coming! While _we_ have the element of surprise!"

_I don’t know why I’m in this alliance._

"Geez, man, I’m just not sure."

You don’t like the evil glare your boyfriend is sending Owen.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAH!" Owen screams while Duncan holds his feet and menaces to let him fall down a cliff.

"Are you sure now?"

"Okay! Okay, okay! We’ll form our own alliance!" Your boyfriend smirks and lets Owen go, showing the viewers that he was only holding him in a space of sixty centimeters. The big guy sighs in relief. "Wow, Duncan! Juvie really made you a scary dude!"

* * *

"Good." You’re all back in the cave and in a circle, also having finished your chips a long time ago. "Now that we all agreed, guys and (Y/N) united to save our butts from elimination!"

You roll your eyes and put your hand on top of the boys’, deciding to go along with them and see what happens after. You all look back at Geoff, who’s looking at the hands with a scared expression.

"Are you in, dude?" When he hears Duncan question, the blond guy shares a terrifying look with you, asking you if it’s okay if he does this. You send him a comforting smile, silently telling him that everything’s going to be fine. He calms down and puts his hand down on top of yours.

"I am so psyched!" You all give Owen a weird look. "Dudes alliance! I love it! It’s so manly, yeah! Come here!"

He then grabs Duncan and DJ, kissing them on the cheek. Both of them get out of the big guy’s grip, giving him a horrified look while you’re simply confused. Owen stares at you all in silence before he hits himself on the head, feeling stupid. You open your mouth wide, suddenly understanding something as you point at him.

"You’re bisex-"

"No! No, I’m not!" He points aggressively at you with a terrifying face. "Don’t even think about it!"

You simply chuckle and mimic closing your mouth forever, the big blond sighing in relief. Duncan gets up, pulling you up with him before he looks at everyone else.

"Alright, clear out."

"What!?" Geoff and the other boys give him a surprised look, Duncan simply smirking at them as you quirk an eyebrow.

"We were here first, dude. This is our hiding spot." You laugh at your boyfriend comment as the other boys leave, then you get out of his grip and surprise him.

"Sorry, honey, but I don’t want to get caught with you. I’m gonna go somewhere else." You walk out of the cabin, waving at him with a bright smile. "See ya later, babe!"

* * *

You walk past the camera crew and look inside a large tent that you and the others have never been in before, seeing two seats in front of larges screens showing different parts of the island. You see some campers hiding and walking around, Chef trying to find them while Chris is giggling at them all. You look back at the camera crew, who are all filming you with curious glances.

"Can I hide in here?" They nod at your response and you smirk. "Alright. Don’t tell or show Chris where I am, okay?"

Once they send you some thumbs up, also completely turning around from you to avoid suspicion, you go inside the tent and sit down on one of the chairs, getting another bag of chips out of your hoodie and starting to eat as you watch everyone on the screens. You smile brightly at the darkness around you, feeling proud to have found the perfect hiding spot. This is a place that **no one** will ever think you’ll be... and if they ever come in here to get you, you’ll see them arrive in advance and you’ll be able to hide somewhere else before they can catch you!

What? How you find that place? You’ve just been searching for it in the last couple of weeks, curious to see where Chris and Chef are watching the whole show. You never thought that it’ll pay off, but hey! You’re just lucky!

You chuckle when you see Izzy follow Chef around and mimic all of his movements, hiding behind rocks and bushes when the ex-soldier turns around in her direction. You look at another screen with a smirk, seeing Geoff trying to stay up in a three and simply being afraid of falling. You gasp in admiration when you see Gwen hide in the grass with a blanket made of it, completely hiding from the outside world.

If you’re not going to win this thing, she’s going to.

_Wait, is Leshawna under the water? My god, my friends are good at this game!_

You laugh when you see DJ and Owen climb on the roof of the lodge from different sides, not aware that they’re taking the same hiding spot. You also see Heather walking inside the lodge, Lindsay soon following after a few minutes. You quirk an eyebrow when you see Bri on another screen, walking around and trapping her feet around the lights’ cable… but you go back to Heather and Lindsay, the blond looking under the table where the black-haired girl is hiding.

_This is going to be interesting._

" _Hey, Heather!_ " The fake eyebrow girl bumps her head on the table, getting out of her hiding spot as she massages her head. " _What a coincidence! We are just destined to hide together!_ "

" _What?_ " Heather gives the blond a mean look. " _What are you doing here? Can’t you find your own hiding place? This challenge is called hide and seek! Not hide in group and seek!_ "

Lindsay gives the black-haired girl puppy eyes, the blond almost crying.

" _But…_ " You hear a couple of "snap" sounds, looking back on your best friend’s screen to see that the lights’ cable is still around her feet. She’s walking in front of Chris, who laughs and turns back to look at the camera.

" _I love this show._ "

"You’re the only one who does, buddy." You eat another chip, looking back at the drama between Heather and Lindsay.

" _Dig yourself a hole! Disguise yourself as a canoe! I don’t care! Just do it somewhere else!_ " The lights in the kitchen suddenly open, revealing an evil Chef laughing at them as you simply chuckle.

" _This is_ _ **my**_ _kitchen! Also known as forbidden territory!_ "

" _Take her!_ " Heather pushes Lindsay unto Chef and runs away, Lindsay screaming and running out before the ex-soldier can grab her. You watch the two girls scream and run towards the home base, Chef following them close from behind and pumping up his water gun. You laugh when you see him splash the girls, coming towards their unconscious bodies on the ground and putting his feet on top of them with proud.

"Oh my god, Chef." You eat another chip. "You’re hilarious."

"Hey, what’s happening in here?"

* * *

_You look up from your little masterpiece to see a man kneeling beside you, his face completely blurred out. You somehow know that he’s smiling sweetly at you, opening his mouth to tell you something._

" _Oooh, you’re drawing a princess riding a dragon, eh? Only four and already so talented._ "

_You feel yourself smile brightly at him, not even phased by his lack of face or his distorted voice._

" _Daddy_ _! You’re home!_ " _You hug him tight, the man laughing at your reaction and hugging you back._ " _I missed you!_ "

" _I missed you too, little star._ " _You chuckle happily and you get out of his embrace, feeling like the man’s face turn into a worried one._ " _What’s that?_ "

_He takes a hold of your bruised arm, making you lose your smile instantly. You feel the atmosphere shift into a serious one, the man looking back at you with why you feel like a hard stare._

" _(Y/N), sweetheart, tell me... Did she hurt you?_ "

* * *

"Hellooo? What are you doing in here?"

You jump out of your skin and turn around to see a young guy that you’ve never met before, the boy having short blond hair and wearing a white shirt. You shake your head, your brain wondering what kind of flashback you just got. That man wasn’t your dad, why did you call him-

"(Y/N)? Aren’t you supposed to hide?" You turn your attention back to the boy, silently deciding that you’ll analyze the flashback later.

"I’m hiding here, the camera crew said it was okay." You give him a suspicious look. "Who are you?"

"My name’s David. I’m just an intern." You nod at him, accepting his answer. "That’s actually a great hiding spot. I doubt they’ll ever find you. Want me to tell the whole crew to act like they don’t know where you are?"

You grin. "That would be awesome, yes."

"Alright, will do." He starts to walk away. "Have fun!"

"Thanks!" You look back at the screen, forgetting about the memory to watch Heather and Lindsay sit on the lodge’s stairs with disappointment faces, Chef looking into every hidden spot inside the building. He looks around with a dead serious face, soon losing it for a surprised look when he hears a sneeze. You see him look up at the ceiling to notice Izzy.

" _Oops. Ah-ah. I guess you heard that, uh? Ah-ah._ "

She then screams and falls on him, kicking his head to jump and land in front of the entrance. You see Chef puts his water gun away, both of them starting to stare at each other with a deathly stare. You continue to eat your chips, avidly now. You get even more interested when you watch the two of them fight with some intense karate moves, Izzy getting an advantage and kicking Chef away from her. You gasp when you see her jump out of the window and land in front of Heather and Lindsay, running away from them and going straight towards the home base.

" _You’ll never get me alive!_ " You smile wildly when you see her about to reach the chair, Chef close behind her. The ginger-haired girl throws herself on the ground to arrive faster at the chair, going way too fast and ending up at the bottom of the lake and caught by Chef. She instantly sees Leshawna, who silently ask her to not say anything about her hiding spot. Izzy nods at her and you smile sweetly.

That girl may be crazy, but she’s a good friend.

" _Nice little skunks!_ " You look at Bridgette’s screen to see her trying to get away from a family of skunks, pulling too hard on the lights’ cable and scaring the crap out of them. You gasp when you see her get sprayed by them, feeling a lot of empathy towards her.

" _AAAAAAAH!_ " She stops screaming when she feels someone poke her shoulder, looking back at Chef wearing a mask.

" _Technically, I don’t have to spray you... but-_ "

" _Please! Spray me!_ " The ex-soldier instantly sprays the blond surfer, the girl smiling at herself in relief… but she soon loses it when she notices that she still smells bad.

"Yeah…" You eat another chip. "You’re gonna need a bath of tomato juice, Bri."

" _Awn, come here, you!_ " You look at DJ and Owen, both almost completely up on the roof. Owen smiles at the bird.

" _Wow! Either I’ve been in the sun too long or that bird’s talking to me!_ "

"Neither of those, buddy." You smirk when you see the boys gasp upon seeing each other.

" _What are you doing in my hiding place, man!_ "

" _Your hiding place? It’s mine! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get up here?_ "

" _Look, we’re tight and all, but- AAAAAH!_ " You laugh hard when you see DJ fall in the lodge, both of the boys being too heavy for the old roof.

" _DJ? Are you okay-AAAAAH!_ " There’s a loud thud. " _Ow! I landed on my keys!_ "

"Oh my god!" You have difficulties to control your laughter. "Now I know how Chris feels all day!"

The boys get out of the lodge with exhaustive expressions, Heather smirking at them.

" _You guys are so busted._ "

" _Hey! I’ve got an idea! Since there are two of them, why don’t I bust one of them, so we both get invincibility?_ " You nod at Lindsay’s comment, then frown when you see Heather give her a hard face.

" _Hey, I’ve got an idea! Find your own!_ "

You don’t even have time to say a comment that you hear someone scream in pain, looking into another screen to see Chef busting Gwen while stepping on her, Izzy and Bridgette following him right behind. You feel disappointed…. but you think that if Chef had accidentally walk on you, you might also have screamed in pain.

" _I found DJ and Owen in the lodge, so I guess I have invincibility now. My job here is done!_ " Heather walks in front of a sulking Gwen. " _Gwen… Looking fetch as always!_ "

You roll your eyes at the black-haired girl, putting your hand in your bag to take another chip... only to frown when you notice that you don’t have chips anymore. You groan, throwing the bag into a trash can not far away from you while you see the little group bust Geoff in the woods. You smirk when you see them about to go to the cave, feeling relieved to not have stayed with your boyfriend there.

" _I wonder where Duncan is hiding._ " Gwen looks around, Owen laughing awkwardly.

" _How should I know? It’s not like the guys are forming a guys' only alliance or anything!_ " You send Owen a death stare, knowing damn well that he’s going to tell the girls everything. " _Okay, they are forming one but I’m not a part of it! … Okay! You broke me! There is an alliance and I joined it and I’m not supposed to tell you but I did! There, you’re happy?_ "

"Well." You cross your arms on the table. "At least he didn’t say I was a part of it."

" _Wow._ " Gwen smiles proudly at the big guy, playing with his hair like he’s a little boy. " _I really had to drag that out of you._ "

" _Oh, alright, already! You got me! Sheesh!_ " You see Chef dragging up your boyfriend by his collar, throwing him on the ground once they get out of the cave.

" _I guess that’s everyone then._ " Geoff looks down at Bridgette, but Owen raises his hand.

" _What about Leshawna and (Y/N)?_ " You smirk, already liking where this is going.

" _Leshawna and (Y/N)? But I searched everywhere!_ " Your smirk grows when you see him having a revelation. " _The water!_ "

They all start to run back to the camp, yourself chuckling darkly. You see Duncan give Bridgette a panic look.

" _(Y/N) doesn’t know how to swim! Why would she be in the water?_ "

" _Don’t you know? S_ _he’s obsessed with hide and seek! Maybe she thought that nobody would think that she’ll be there... Do you think Leshawna_ _is_ _hel_ _ping_ _her?_ "

" _Hopefully, yeah._ "

You shake your head at their conversation, putting your head on your hands as you smile at the screens. You’re not stupid enough to go hide in the water, that’s too high of a risk for you to die. You continue to watch the whole group run around, all of them finally stopping on the dock and gasping in surprise when they see Leshawna sitting on the lifeguard chair.

" _What took you so long, sugar?_ "

"Ah-ah! This is so great!" You laugh at Chef’s face, smiling wildly when you see everyone starting to cheer at her. After a few seconds, the ex-soldier smiles, nodding his head at the brown girl with proud.

" _Alrighty, campers. The game’s over. Time to pick the loser and send them home._ "

" _But Chris!_ " Bridgette gives the host a panic look, Chris quirking an eyebrow at her. " _We still haven’t found (Y/N)!_ "

"Damn right, you didn’t." Your smirk grows when you see the shocked look on the host’s face, not having noticed that you weren’t there.

" _Leshawna, wasn’t (Y/N) hiding with you?_ "

" _She wasn’t._ " She frowns and puts her fists on her waist. " _I haven’t seen her since this morning._ "

" _Then where could she be?_ " Chris bites his bottom lip at Lindsay’s question.

" _Alright, change of plans! Everyone tries to find (Y/N)! If no one finds her in ten minutes, she wins! But if someone finds her, including me, then she loses!_ " He looks back at one of the cameras. " _Has one of you seen her?_ "

You laugh when the camera shakes to say "no" to the host, feeling happy that the whole camera crew is on your side for this challenge. You see the intern that found you earlier on one of the other screens, winking at you and making you chuckle.

" _(Y/N)! (Y/N), where are you!?_ " You spin your chair and laugh when you see everyone search for you all around the camp, the different camera crews and interns chuckling among themselves. You hide your mouth with your hands to stop you from laughing too hard when you see Geoff go into the septic tank for the second time, trying to find you there.

"Damn, I feel so powerful right now."

" _The ten minutes are almost done, Chef!_ " Chris gives his only friend a terrified look. " _Where is she!?_ "

" _I don’t know!_ "

" _Hey, what if she’s dead somewhere?_ " Bridgette gives the adults a terrified look, starting to scream your name even louder. You watch Duncan comes to Chris and Chef with a mix of angry and scared expression.

" _We better not find her dead body or I’m gonna kill you!_ "

" _You know what? I’m done!_ " Chris looks around and starts to scream as loud as he can. " _(Y/N)! You win, alright? You got invincibility! So if you’re still alive somewhere, show yourself!_ "

"Hey, (Y/N)." You look behind you to see Dave, smirking at you. "You see that strange microphone there?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"That’s what Chris use to talk all around the camp. You can use that if you want."

"Thanks, Dave!" He leaves as you take the thing in your hand, still smirking at the host on the screen.

" _(Y/N)! Did you hear me? You win!_ " You push the button on the microphone and approach your mouth to it, hearing your voice all around the camp.

" _ **Since I’ve won this whole thing, I’m gonna give you a hint to where I’m hiding.**_ " You take a pause, savoring the shock on everyone’s face upon hearing your voice in the loudspeakers. " _ **Here’s my hint: I. Can. See. Everything**_ _._ "

" _She’s in the camera tent! Dammit, Chef! Why didn’t you check there!?_ " You laugh when you see Chris send an angry look at the ex-soldier.

" _I didn’t think someone would be there! That tent is so well hidden, I thought none of them knew it existed!_ "

" _ **I had so much fun watching all of you get caught. You know what, Chris? Maybe I’ll be a host later, it seems like a great job. Also, congratulation**_ _ **s**_ _ **, Leshawna!**_ "

" _Thanks, girl!_ " The brown girl spots a camera and sends you a smile that you return, even though she can’t see you.

" _Alright, (Y/N)! Get back out here! You need to vote off someone!_ " You roll your eyes at the host, not believing one second that he could be pissed at you. You can see that he feels proud to know that you might follow his career choice.

Eh. Maybe you’ll tease him about that later.

* * *

"Can you hear us out there, Bridgette?" You sitting on top of a bunk bed beside Izzy, Leshawna, Gwen, Lindsay, and Heather sitting on the one below you two.

" _Yep!_ " You smile sadly when you hear your friend’s answer.

"Sorry we had to keep you outside, girl. We really just can’t stand that smell!"

" _That’s okay… I understand._ "

"I love you, Bri!" The girls jump out of surprise when they hear you scream.

" _I love you too, (Y/N)!_ "

"Ugh, listen." Heather gives you all a serious face. "The guys are teaming up against us, and as much as it makes me want to yack out my lunch, we have to vote as a group if we want any chance of winning."

… _should I tell them that I’m in the guys’ alliance?_

" _Well, I say we take out Duncan. He’s mean and I’d like to tell him that to his face. Sorry (Y/N)._ " You gasp at your best friend’s response, not believing what you’re hearing.

"Sounds good to me. I don’t trust that little criminal!" You give Leshawna and Gwen a surprised look, your eyes tearing up.

"But he’s my boyfriend! You’re not gonna vote off my boyfriend?"

"Sorry, (Y/N)." Gwen gives you a sad smile. "But Leshawna’s right, we can’t trust him."

"Speaking of trust, I don’t trust that Owen." All girls give their attention back at Heather. "He’s always happy and smiling, it’s creepy and unnatural. I say we lose him. Lindsay?"

"Owen. Yeah."

"But Owen’s like…" Izzy smiles sweetly. "… the nicest guy on the island! And he plays a mean game of Canasta! Have you guys ever played that? It’s so fun!"

"This is an elimination game?" Heather gives judgment eyes to the ginger-haired girl. "Not a dance! We have to vote someone off in order to stay in the game. Hey! Why don’t you vote with us, Izzy? We’ll be like BFF’s!"

Izzy gives Heather a weird look and Lindsay smiles at her awkwardly. "Best female friends."

The ginger-haired girl smile. "Okay!"

"You know she’ll just dump you after the vote." Lindsay nods at Leshawna’s comment while doing her nails.

"It’s true. She will." Heather hits Lindsay and throws her nail polish on the ground, the blond girl gasping in disbelief.

"Anyway. What about you, (Y/N)? Are you gonna vote with us?"

"… I’m actually in the guys’ alliance?"

" _ **What!?**_ "

Maybe you shouldn’t have said that.

"Let me guess, Duncan said it was okay for you to be in it, right?" You nod at Heather, the black-haired girl groaning in annoyance. "Ugh, but you can’t do that! You have to be in the girls’ alliance!"

"I don’t like to say this, but Heather’s right." You feel yourself shrink under Leshawna’s stare, not liking to have all the girls giving you a hard look. "You need to switch alliances, (Y/N)."

"But-"

The door suddenly opens, all the girls looking back at the entrance to see DJ, Bridgette also giving the big guy a shocked expression from outside. You all watch him look at each girl with a serious look, his eyes finally setting on you. He smiles and goes straight to you to throw you on his shoulder, finally running out of the cabin and ignoring the girls’ screams.

"Hey, DJ! What are y- Hey, no! Come back here! Give us (Y/N) back! _She can’t be in your alliance!_ " You hear your best friend screams those words, only seeing everything around you going fast before DJ stops to run and put you down on the dock of shame.

"You’re okay, babe?" You look behind you to see your boyfriend kneeling along with Geoff and Owen. You smile sweetly at him.

"I am now that DJ saved me." You slightly punch the guy on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

"No problem, girl." He gives you a bright smile and kneels in the circle with the rest of the boys, you soon imitating them.

"Alright, we’ve all agreed. We vote Bridgette off."

_Wait, what? No! Can any of the alliances not vote off someone important to me!?_

"No, wait! She can still be an asset to us!" You give Geoff a small sad smile, both of you thinking of a way to save the blond surfer from elimination.

"Oh, really?" Duncan quirks an eyebrow at the blond guy. "You dig the way she smells right now?"

"She just…" They all look back at you. "… needs a tomato bath."

"Yeah, and… why don’t we vote Heather off? She’s got dirt on all of us, dude!"

"Because we can’t! She’s got invincibility again? So does Leshawna and (Y/N), by the way. And besides, everyone likes Bridgette and she’s great at sports! We might not get another chance, dude."

"But I don’t want to vote her off! She’s my best friend!"

"Babe, I know." He puts his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it and giving you a sweet smile. "But we don’t have a choice."

_Bullshit._

"All in favor of voting for Bridgette?" The deviant boy puts his hand in the middle of all of you, DJ and Owen following him while you and Geoff exchange sad expressions. "That settles it. Here’s to the guys' alliance!"

Your boyfriend looks up at you and Geoff, losing his smile. "Geoff? (Y/N)?"

You both hesitate for a few seconds, but eventually, you both put your hands on top of theirs. None of them notice that you’re both crossing your fingers behind your back.

* * *

"I hate being caught in between boys and girls." You look at the camera in the bathroom cabin, your arms crossed on your chest. "It’s exactly like in my childhood, you know? One day, there was this huge fight between girls and boys in my primary school, but since most of my friends were boys, my dudes beg the guy leader to let me into their team. But when the girls found out, they started to scream and pull me by one of my arms while the boys were trying to drag me back with my other arm. I was trapped!"

You sigh in annoyance, massaging your temples. "I _am_ trapped right now. The girls want to vote for Duncan and the boys want to vote for Bridgette! I can’t decide! Sure, I could go with Heather and vote for Owen, but I don’t want to side with her…"

You groan and punch the wall. "Ugh! And I can’t even vote for myself because I have invincibility!" You try to calm down by doing your breathing exercises, which works because it gives you an idea. "Okay… You know what guys? Here it is! I vote for Izzy!"

* * *

You’re standing behind Chris with everyone except for Duncan, Bridgette, and Owen, you eating your marshmallow with a horrible gut feeling in your stomach.

"There are only two marshmallows left on this plate. You each racked up a lot of votes! One of you is going home tonight and cannot return ever! The next marshmallow goes to… Owen!"

"Awn, come on!" You put your hands on your mouth, feeling the weird stares of the boys and girls standing around you. You still feel your heartache, not believing that you’re going to lose one of the most important people on this island to you.

"The final marshmallow of the night goes to… Duncan."

Because he was expecting it, your boyfriend catches his marshmallow with a blank face as everyone gasps in shock, the deviant boy eating the white gooey food with a smirk. Bridgette looks at all of you with a sad pout, tears coming up in her eyes.

"Okay, that was a shocker! Even _I’m_ shocked and I knew the answer!"

"Bri!" You run to your best friend and hug her, ignoring the horrible smell coming off her. "I’m so sorry! I didn’t vote for you, I swear!"

"You didn’t?" You ignore your boyfriend’s comment and tighten your grip on Bridgette, the blond giving your hug back while crying.

"I believe you, (Y/N)!" You both sob in each other's embrace. "Stay strong for me, alright? I’ll cheer for you back home!"

"And I’ll think of you every day!" You try to keep her with you, but Chris pushes the blond out of your arms and unto the dock of shame. "You’ll always be my best friend!"

She smiles sadly at you as you all follow her. "And you’ll always be mine! I love you!"

"I love you too!" You wipe some tears away from your face, noticing that there’s a slight smell of sprayed skunk on you.

"Bridgette, I’m gonna miss you!" Geoff walks in front of everyone, the blond girl smiling sweetly at him.

"Me too! So you didn’t vote me off?"

"No way! I can never vote you off, babe! You’re my girl!"

"Awn, I believe you!"

"You didn’t vote her off too!?" You look back at your boyfriend to see him having a very annoyed face, but he soon loses it when he sees how sad you are and he sighs.

"Alright, I’ll just hate Geoff, not you." He opens his arms and you go hide your face in his chest with contentment, feeling his hands soothing your back. "I’m sorry I asked that out of you, sweetheart. But it’s okay, you’ll see her sooner than you think."

"I hope you’re right." You watch your best friend disappears with the boat, you looking up at Duncan and giving him a sad smile. "At least I still have you."

He gives you back your smile.

"You’ll always have me, baby girl."


	19. TDI: That's Off The Chain!

**Chapter Eighteen: That’s Off the Chain!**

You’re playing a game of Frisbee with Gwen and Owen in your team, Duncan, DJ and Leshawna playing together in the other one. You catch the Frisbee and send it to Gwen, the goth girl catching it fast and throwing back on the other side. This time, it’s your boyfriend who catches it and he gives you a smirk. He sends the Frisbee back at your team, but you all get distracted by a loud screaming sound from the bathroom cabin, Owen getting hit in the head with the object.

"Ooh." Leshawna puts her hands on her waist. "Sounds like Geoff is having a hard time accepting that Bridgette’s been kicked off."

"Yeah, he’s so weak." You chuckle at your boyfriend’s comment and send him a smug.

"Oh, so you wouldn’t cry if I was kicked off?" The deviant boy’s about to answer you when you hear Geoff starting to scream a song at the top of his lungs.

" _Baby, come back! Any kind of fool can seeeeeee! There was something in everything about… you! Hey, Bridge! Sending out my love to wherever it is that the boat of losers takes you!_ "

"Um, we better go check on him." The punk guy walks away, DJ following him close behind. "You’re coming, babe?"

"Yep!" You run fast to join the guys, starting to walk normally beside Duncan and smiling wildly when you feel his arm around your shoulders. He kisses your cheek, making you giggle happily.

"Wait, what about our game?" While Leshawna’s frowning at you, Owen runs to go join you and Gwen quirks an eyebrow.

"Check on him? Since when did he start having feelings for someone that isn’t one of his girlfriends?"

"Since they started up their guys' alliance. Duncan’s no fool, he needs Geoff’s vote to stay in it." You stick out your tongue at Heather as you walk away from the rest of the girls, the black-haired one sending you a glare. You simply continue on your way back at camp, arriving in time to see Geoff going out of the bathroom stall with red and puffy eyes.

"Attaboy! Hug it out!" Owen hugs Geoff too tight, almost choking the blond.

"You’re okay, Geoff?" The big guy puts the blond down, Geoff giving you the saddest face in the world. "I miss Bridgette too, you know. But you need to stay strong for her!"

"But it’s so hard!"

"Look, man." Duncan crosses his arms on his chest with a smirk. "Voting Bridgette off was just a strategic move! If the guy alliance stand strong, we can win this! So are you in?"

The deviant boy puts his fist in front of him, DJ and Owen soon imitating him. You roll your eyes with a playful smile, putting your fist on top of theirs while Geoff looks down at the ground with the same sad face.

"I don’t know, man. Going on without Bridge is like… Woah, is that bacon?" He then realizes something and starts to run. "Ah, crap! I missed breakfast!"

"I think Geoff’s in."

"Honey, how in the world did you see that he was in?"

"What? You’re not agreeing with me, babe?"

"I-" You and the boys grimace when you all hear a loud and horrible sound, all of you groaning in annoyance once you realize that it’s Chris talking in the loudspeakers again.

" _Morning, campers! Your next challenge awaits you in the arts and craft center!_ "

"There’s an art and craft center?"

* * *

"Welcome to the arts and craft center."

"More like arts and crap center." You laugh and give your boyfriend a high five, Chris simply smiling at you two.

"Yeah… it used to be a haunted house but now it’s where Chef parks his motorcycle." The host kicks off the door of the little wooden cabin, showing you the red motorcycle with flames on it. All the boys gasp and admire it, you and the girls only waiting for Chris to explain the challenge.

"All of this brings us to your challenge. Building your own wheels!"

"Hot roads! Yes! Awesome! Give me five!" Owen shows his hand to Duncan, who simply stares at it with a bored face. Owen waits for a while with his usual bright smile, but he soon loses it for an awkward one and looks around in embarrassment.

"You’ll find all the parts you need in our bike depot!" You feel disappointed when you see the huge pile of normal bike’s part.

"Bicycle! That’s awesome! But still good… right?"

_Not really, Owen._

"Once you’ve collected the basics, you can decorate any way you want losing crafts from the arts center." Chris puts an army helmet on his head, going on his motor vehicle before he leaves. "Best design wins! And, since I’m a nice guy, I’m even throwing in a bike manual!"

The host throws the said manual to Heather, who instantly throws it back at Izzy with a scream. "Ew! It’s fury!"

"Cool. Mold’s spores!" You all give Izzy a weird look.

"Ugh, creep." Heather sends everyone a death glare and points to Lindsay and herself. "We get first dibs!"

_Sheesh, calm down Heather. It’s not like there’s something awesome in this pile of garbage._

You start to dig into the huge pile, getting some parts that you find good enough as your boyfriend looks at two things in his hands. You hear Owen laughs and you look up to see him take something.

"I’m gonna make my dream bike!"

"Oh my gosh! Me too!" You smile sweetly at Lindsay, happy to see her so excited for the challenge. "Every year at Christmas, I asked for a sunset sally bike, but never got one!"

… _What’s a sunset sally bike?_

"Really?" DJ puts a hand on Owen’s shoulder, the big blond starting to cry. "Santa never… brought you… your... Christmas wish…?"

Both of the boys start to cry and you smile at them, Duncan suddenly popping his head between them. "Guys, this isn’t a Christmas wish contest. If we wanna vote the chicks out, then our bikes have to kick butt! Capiche?"

"Right! Wheeling choppers!" Geoff puts his fist up in the air, smiling again.

"Kick butts. Yes! Let’s do it!" Owen imitates the blond cowboy.

"Guys alliance… woo-hoo...!" You quirk an eyebrow at DJ, being the only one to notice that he’s not feeling good at the moment. You sigh and get up, walking up to them and giving them a determined smile.

"Let’s go make some badass bikes, boys."

* * *

You and the guys are back at the camp with a bunch of bike’s parts, all of you doing different things. While you’re assembling your bike with all your concentration, Duncan’s hitting a wheel with a hammer and DJ’s putting on soft materials to protect himself. You also notice Owen blowing a tire while Geoff’s drawing Bridgette’s face on a piece of paper.

Looks like you’re the only one productive, eh?

As the time pass, all of you continue to make your bikes, you finishing the base and going back to the small pile you all made so you can find some crafty art things. After a few minutes, you manage to finish your masterpiece, but you still go back to the pile to try and find something greater. You frown when you find a knight helmet, wondering what that thing is doing there. That’s when you hear a loud thud and look up to see DJ testing a bike helmet against a three, the other boys starting a conversation as you walk up to him.

"You’re okay, DJ?" He gives you an edgy smile and you suddenly understand. "Oh, you never got on a bike before, right?

"Yeah, you’re right. I’m just so scared."

"Awn, don’t worry. That’s something you learn fast! I can help you make some tests before the challenge if you want."

"Thanks, (Y/N). I-"

"Hey, do you guys remember your first bike ride?" You both look back at the three boys.

"Oh, yeah! I wiped out so bad I popped my collarbone. You could see it stick out of my shoulder! That was wicked." You and DJ share a horrified look when you hear Duncan’s words, but you still try to reassure the guy with a comforting smile.

"Hey, DJ, it’s not that-"

"I flew so far up on the handlebars that I skid for a mile! Ahah! The skin that was hanging off me? Chunks!"

"Don’t listen to them, DJ. It’s very rare that you hurt yourself that ba-"

"Ahah, that’s nothing! I popped my arm right out of my socket! It took three doctors to hold me down while they slingshot it back into place!"

_Will you guys shut up!?_

"(Y/N), please tell me that your first ride wasn’t that bad." You feel your heart broke when you see the puppy face DJ’s making, but you can’t lie to him.

"I’m sorry, DJ. I got thrown into a three and was unconscious for a few weeks."

You watch him lose all hope and throw his bike helmet on the ground. You sigh and decide to give him the knight helmet in your hands with a sad smile.

"You want this?"

"Yes, thank you." He takes it and puts it on his head.

" _Alright, campers! Time to judge your bikes! Put your paddle to the metal and meet me at the craft center!_ "

* * *

"Well, campers. We gave you the parks, let’s see what you came up with!" Chris starts to walk in front of you all, smiling down at Heather’s bike. "Excellent aerodynamic, Heather!"

"It only weighs two ounces!"

"Like her brain." You smirk at Gwen’s comment, also admiring her bike that looks like a giant bat. Chris smile stays the same as he walks by it.

"Spooky, yet practical. Well done." He continues his walk and stops beside Duncan’s, admiring the deadly skull appearance of it. "Wicked mad max mobile, dude!"

He then stops beside yours and his smile stretches out when he sees it. You smile proudly, tapping the seat of your red, black and white looking bike.

"Sick, (Y/N)! What’s your inspiration? Let me guess, Harley Quinn?"

"Glad you recognize the queen of crime’s style." He sends you finger guns and you smirk, the host going over to Lindsay’s poney bike with a weird face.

"Come on, go ahead! Ring her bell!" Chris rings it and only give the blond a confused frown once he hears a normal ring. "The real bike has tons of sounds like this."

She then imitates the sound of a horse with a happy smile, the host walking away from her and looking at DJ’s. He looks up at the guy, giving him a disappointing look when he sees how much protection he’s wearing.

"Dude, seriously? This is lame." Chris finally arrives at Geoff’s one with a smirk. "Now this is a hot rod! Nice!"

"I call her… Bridgette…!" The blond guy starts to cry again, showing off the picture he drew of her that he stuck on the front of his bike. Chris, annoyed, is about to tell him to stop whining when Owen arrives with his own bike.

"Owen, nice job! Hey, where’s Izzy and Leshawna?"

There’s a long pause where you all can’t answer him and just shrug, the host smiling again.

"Oh well, it's their loss, cause this is where it gets good! We’re gonna race these babies! Hard!"

"Ah! Awesome! Cause my bike is built for speed! Right, Lindsay?" Heather crosses her arms on her chest with proud, looking back at the blond with a smirk.

"Totally!"

"Yeah, unfortunately, you won’t be riding it, Heather. You’ll be switching bikes!"

_Huh?_

"Yeah, cruel twist, huh? Already, then! See you at the beach!"

* * *

"Okay! Here’s how it works!" As Chris is talking, you watch Chef read a racebook behind the host with a red flag in his hand. "Everyone picks a name out of the helmet to see who’s bike you’re riding. If your bike makes it across the finish line, then you get to ride it in the final round for invincibility."

You pick out a piece of paper and smile when you see that you got your boyfriend’s bike.

"Oh, I got (Y/N)’s, sweet!" You look behind you to see Owen admire your Harley Quinn’s bike, a huge smile on his face.

"Try not to destroy it, alright?" He sends you a thumbs up and you sigh with a smile, walking up to Duncan. "Hey, babe. Which one you got?"

He groans and gives you an annoyed look. "I got Lindsay’s." You chuckle at his disgusted face. "What about you?"

"Got yours. Do you have any tips for me?" He smirks and puts his arm around you.

"Yeah, here’s how you make it work. There are no paddles, so you have to start the engine-"

"Alright, campers! Let’s start the race!"

You feel Chris drag you away from Duncan and push you beside the skull bike, you groaning in annoyance at the host for not letting your boyfriend finish his explanation.

"But before that, has anyone seen Leshawna or Izzy?"

* * *

Somewhere else, Leshawna’s screaming at the top of her lungs, Izzy riding their shared bike on a river.

* * *

"Okay, racers! On your marks! Get sets! … paramedics on stand by… and… go!"

You watch everyone race the bikes with great speed, passing by a smiling Chris while you simply look at Duncan’s bike in confusion. There are no paddles on this thing, how in the world are you supposed to race? You hear a loud sound and someone screaming in pain, looking up to see that Heather isn’t racing either. You smile when you see that she’s got DJ’s bike, the multiple training wheels restraining her from moving forward on the sand.

"You’re okay, Heather?" She looks back at you with an angry expression. "Do you think you’re old enough to take off the training wheels?"

"Shut up, (Y/N)! You don’t even have paddles!"

You open your mouth to give her a harsh response, but the black-haired girl pushes her bike on the sand and runs, leaving you alone at the starting line. You look up ahead to see that most of the people can’t be seen anymore, except for DJ and Geoff who somehow crashed on their way. You chuckle when you see Heather crashing into them, finally deciding to look down at your bike a second time. You squint your eyes, taking a hold of the little skull in the front and pulling it.

You smile when you hear an engine sound, but you soon lose it when the bike moves forward with the greatest speed of the sound. You scream, feeling your skin and hair being pulled behind you because of the force of the speed. You manage to see yourself crossing the finish line, Chef getting buried by tons of sand. You scream at the top of your lungs, your bike going all around the isle.

While you’re gone for a few minutes, a couple of people also cross the finish line, Chris arriving on his engine with a bright smile.

"Yes! We have three awesome wipeouts by Heather, Geoff, and DJ! Five invincibility race winners! Owen’s fun machine, Heather’s speed machine, Lindsay’s sunset sally, (Y/N)’s Harley Quinn and Duncan’s lethal weapon!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!" You open your eyes to see that you’re arriving at the finish line for a second time, passing by the crashing site of the three teenagers and seeing the other people’s silhouettes arriving fast. "HOW DO I STOP THIS THING!?"

Your boyfriend gives you the most panic look. "SLAM THE HOOD ORNAMENT!"

You take a deep breath and grab with your right hand the bike steering wheel, using all of your strength to not be thrown away when you slam the skull. You feel huge violence shake your body when the bike finally stops, feeling the sand hit your back as you’re still grabbing the steering wheel. You let it go when you open your eyes to see that you’re in front of Duncan’s bike, your arm stretched out behind you. You feel yourself breathe again, slowly standing up with your body shaking.

"(Y/N)!" You look up to see your boyfriend running over to you, the deviant boy taking your head in his hands with a worried expression. "You’re okay, babe?"

"Yeah, I’m fine." You smile tiredly. "I’m never going on that thing again."

"Good, cause I won’t let you." He captures your lips with his own and you savor the moment, your hands grabbing his shirt to pull him closer to you.

"Awesome finish, (Y/N)!" You both stop kissing and look back at the host to see him raise his hand with his same smile. "It’s time to head over to the TDI motocross! "

* * *

Somewhere else, Leshawna’s still screaming, Izzy now riding the bike through a vegetation maze as a squirrel ends up on the brown girl’s face.

* * *

"Wow! Sweet wheels!" You nod at Owen’s comment, happy to finally be able to ride your precious Harley Quinn’s bike.

"I know, right?" Lindsay gives Owen a smirk. "And PS, I love yours."

"Oh, me too! It’s so much fun to ride!"

You quirk an eyebrow when you see Duncan take Owen’s ear, whispering something.

"Dude, I got one word for you: focus! Or I’m gonna kick your butt into next week!"

"Focus, right! Negatory on the fun! Done!" The big guy awkwardly sends a thumbs up to your boyfriend, the punk teenager finally leaving him alone. You roll your eyes at him, giving your attention back to Chris, who’s coming back on his engine.

"Campers! Welcome to Motor! Cross! Challenge!" You smile playfully at the host, wondering if he’s going to make an insane montage on his words. "Using your own bikes, you’ll race the course in avoiding getting bit and more! Cue the death traps!"

You look ahead and lose your smile.

"There’s dodging the land mines, maneuvering through the oil slick and finally… jumping the piranhas!" You feel the panic race inside your veins when you see the piranhas eat a whole piece of meat in less than two seconds. "Oh! And one more thing! The first one to cross wins invincibility! The last one to cross gets voted off the island! No bond fire, not pass-go, and you do not collect a marshmallow!"

_Oh, fuck._

You send your boyfriend a panic look as he quirks an eyebrow at Chris’ words.

"Racers, take your position!" You grab your staring wheel in fear, your hands trembling. "And go!"

While the others move forward (and rather fast), you decide to go slowly, scared as hell. You gasp when you see Owen get thrown off the course by a bomb, the other three teenagers going through the land mines easily. You close your eyes in fear when you pass through, but you soon realize that all the mines have already exploded which let you go on rather easily. You see Lindsay happily scream up in the front, leading a clear path for Heather right after Duncan falls into the black oil slick. You arrive soon after and suddenly stop beside your covered in oil boyfriend, your brain getting hit by a revelation.

"(Y/N), what are you waiting for?" You blink a couple of times before you look back at your boyfriend, the punk falling on the oil again. "The last one to cross gets kicked off! You need to go!"

"… but what if I never cross the line? Then I won’t be the last one." You see his blue eyes open wide, the deviant boy understanding your logic as the host talks again.

"And we have a winner! Heather!" You all look up ahead to see Heather smiling proudly, Lindsay squeezing in delight and running to her friend to hug her.

"Yeah! You won! We did it! We’re safe!"

"That’s not exactly true. Heather is safe because her bike crossed the line first, but since Duncan and Owen wiped out and didn’t complete the race, they technically didn’t cross the line at all! Which makes you the last one to cross the line! Which means… it’s the dock of shame time, baby!"

"But what about (Y/N)?" Heather sends you an annoyed look from her place and you simply wave at her. "She can still finish the race, no?"

"It’s true, but…" Chris looks back at you and you smile at him. "She already realized that she’ll be kicked off if she crosses the line, so I don’t think she’ll finish the race… Right, (Y/N)?"

"You’re damn right I won’t!" You get off your bike and help your boyfriend stand up in the oil, your smile stretching out. "I’m starting to know how you think, Chris!"

The host chuckles at your comment and Lindsay looks at all of you with confusion.

"Okay, I’m so confused…" The blond looks back at Heather who smirks back at her evilly.

"It means I can’t save you unless I give you my invincibility, but I can’t do that! Too risky! You understand." She walks away, but Lindsay grabs her wrist.

"But I won! I even built your bike!" The black-haired girl gets her wrist out of Lindsay’s grip, laughing awkwardly.

"Ah-ah! I don’t know what she’s talking about." You squint your eyes at her, you and your boyfriend walking closer to the final line to hear their conversation better. "You should just leave with your dignity intact. It will make you seem much cuter in the instant replays."

You hear everyone gasp and you look around to see that they’re all closer now, Lindsay giving Heather a hurtful look.

"But we were going to the final three together!"

"Guess we’re not!"

"Aren’t you even sad? We’re BFF’s!" Heather quirks an eyebrow and crosses her arms, Lindsay still not understanding anything.

"Yeah, for the contest. I mean, it’s not like we’re gonna be best friends for life or anything." The blond gasps, hiding her face with her hands.

"I can’t believe you’ve just said that! But we pinky swore! You mean..." Heather rolls her eyes and Lindsay understands something, the girl giving the black-haired girl a mean glare. "… I’ve been helping you all this time and you didn’t even like me?"

"Huh, truth?" Lindsay nods to say that she wants to know what Heather thinks. "Not really, no."

The blond gasps another time, giving the fake eyebrow girl the most shocking face of all time. You all give Heather death looks, you stopping yourself to jump on her and fight with her.

"What? We’re not here to make friends! We’re here to become celebrities, remember?"

"Ooh, that’s cold, bruh." Duncan gives Heather an offended face, the boy also not liking the evil vibes coming off you.

"Oh, like you’re such a team player! All you do is going around scaring the crap out of everyone and kiss (Y/N)."

"At least I’m straight with people! And (Y/N) is my girlfriend!"

"Whatever. I have invincibility. No one can touch me!"

_**This** week._

"You are mean! And all that bad stuff people say about you is true!" Lindsay squints her eyes as her fists start to tremble. "Like how you’re a two-faced backstabbing lying little-"

You smile wildly when you hear Lindsay insult Heather with the cruelest swearing words you’ve ever heard, the black-haired girl popping her eyes open from surprise and shock.

"I always told them they were wrong and I stood up for you because I thought we were BFF’s! But they’re right! You really are a two-faced backstabbing lying little-" You see your boyfriend give the blond a shocked look, you only chuckling with your arms cross before you start to walk over to Lindsay. "And guess what! I don’t wanna be BFF’s anymore! I’d rather spend the day staring at Owen’s butt than shopping with you! And PS… your shoes are tacky!"

Everyone laughs and cheers for Lindsay as Heather gasps in horror, you arriving beside the blond and giving her a high five.

"Great job, Lindsay."

"Thanks, (Y/N)!"

"Ugh! Go jump in the piranha pool!" The black-haired girl walks away with an angry expression, but she soon stops and looks back when you all hear a scream. You turn around, opening your eyes wide when you see Leshawna and Izzy passing by Gwen, DJ, and Geoff up on the cliff

"GET ME OFF OF THIS THING! AAAAAAAH!" They both fall down the cliff, landing in the lake somehow... safely. They get back up at the surface soon after, Izzy laughing maniacally while Leshawna’s breathing heavily.

… _At least they’re still alive._

* * *

It feels weird to see someone go without having a bonfire. The sun is still up when Lindsay comes to join you all on the dock of shame. You watch her stop beside Leshawna, Gwen and Izzy, giving them all a bright smile.

"Thanks for your support, Greta. I love you Lekwesha!" The brown girl gives the blond a tight hug despite having her name destroyed, Lindsay gladly accepting it.

"Take care, girlfriend. If it makes you feel better, we would have kept you on."

"Really? Thanks! Kick Heather’s butt for me!" Leshawna laughs as the blond continues to walk.

"My pleasure!"

Lindsay stops in front of the guys, still smiling brightly at them."Bye, guys! See you at the finale!"

She stops in front of Owen, who’s having the saddest face in the world.

"Awn… I think I’m gonna miss you the most!"

She gives him a hug, the big blond starting to cry and crushing her in his arms.

"Me too!" He lets go of her, still crying. "B-bye!"

Lindsay shakes her head to try and regain balance, smiling again and moving forward until she gets in front of you. Her smile gets wider when she sees you open your arms with a sad smile, the blond going straight to you and hugging you back.

"I’ll miss you, Lindsay!"

"I’ll miss you too, (Y/N)! You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had here!" She gives you a sweet face and you feel the tears come out of your eyes. "Awn, don’t cry! We’ll see each other soon!"

"If you say so…" She takes her luggage and moves on from you. You feel a hand on your shoulder and you let the tears go, turning around to hug your boyfriend. You wonder if this is going to be a routine, you crying at the departure of your friends while Duncan comforts you.

"Good luck, Heather!" The blond smirks at the black-haired girl. "I hope you get everything your karma owns you… Okay! I’m ready."

She goes on the boat of losers with Chris and waves back at you all with her usual happy smile.

"Stay your happy self, Lindsay!" She nods at your comment and puts her hands around her mouth to try and scream louder.

"And stay your beautiful self, (Y/N)!"

You chuckle with a small blush on your cheeks, sniffing slightly with your red and puffy eyes as Duncan squeezes your shoulders in comfort.

"She’s right, you know. " You turn your head at him, quirking an eyebrow playfully. "You’re beautiful."

"Awn, shut up." You snort in embarrassment, blushing even more. "I’m crying, I can’t be cute."

"Well, you are to me." You close your eyes when you feel his lips on your forehead, realizing right after that there are only eight people left on the island.

The ride’s almost over, isn’t it?


	20. TDI: Hook Line and Screamer

**Chapter Nineteen: Hook, Line and Screamer!**

You watch with anticipation as walking feet appears on the screen, stopping right on their tracks before the camera rapidly move up to show a masked man with a hook and a chainsaw. You smirk when you hear the creepy yet cheesy music, the whole horror movie being pretty cliche in general. You feel a grip tighten around your shoulders and you send your boyfriend a side look, seeing him smirking in excitement and clenching his fists. You shake your head playfully at him and give your attention back to the movie, silently liking that you can share your passion for horror with him.

"He’s coming out of the woods with a big hacking chainsaw!" Izzy gasps with hysteria. "That’s so cool!"

"Oh no!" Owen hides his eyes. "Psycho killer man’s going for the car!"

"Yo, foul couple! Stop making out-" Leshawna gets up from her seat and throws popcorn at the screen. "-and start the car!"

"They’re gonna be chainsaw sushi, ah-ah-ah!" Izzy stops laughing once she hears the inhuman screams from the protagonists, Owen getting up from his seat with a terrified face.

"My Canadian cheese! Now the car won’t start!"

"Oh man…" DJ’s voice cracks. "I hate scary movies…"

"Run! The psycho is gonna get ya!"

While DJ gasp and hides behind his wooden seat, you turn your head at your boyfriend to see him roll his eyes at the big jock. You chuckle and go back to the screen, watching the psycho killer about to slice the two lovers in half.

"Here comes the bloodfest!" As soon as Gwen says that, gruesome waterfalls of blood spill out of the bodies while the chainsaw go through them, body parts launching all around with the music getting cheesier. You laugh out loud, not believing how bad the scene was made. Seriously? The body parts look like expired bread and the blood is just spitting out like someone is spraying it.

"Yeah! Right on!" Gwen smiles wildly at the scene, your boyfriend laughing and pointing at the screen.

"Ah-ah! Gross!" His smirk stretches out and you laugh more, the bad acting getting you all over again.

"Awn, the chainsaw psycho’s going back to the woods! He’s getting away! Yeah! Good ending! Izzy loves scary movies!" The ginger-haired girl proceeds to jump in Owen’s arms with a sweet smile.

"So does Owen." He looks back at you, Duncan and DJ, moving his eyebrows up and down while you all send him thumbs up. You feel your boyfriend squeeze your side against his own, making you look up at him.

"So, do you still think you should have gone read one of your novels?" His smirk makes you roll your eyes, but you can’t stop yourself from smiling.

"Alright. I guess it was more fun than I thought it would be." The punk chuckles and kisses your cheek, whispering an "I told you so" in your ear that makes you nudge his side. As he laughs at your action, the movie projector stops working, telling you all that the movie’s finished.

"Oof! I’m glad that’s over… I really hate scary movies!" You know what’s coming when you see your boyfriend smirk when he hears DJ complain.

"Oh yeah? What scares you most? The part where everyone meets a grizzly death… or the psycho killer with a hook?!" The deviant boy gets his right hand out of his back to show a sharp hook, making the big jock scream in fear and hide behind Leshawna. You all instantly laugh at the boy, making him blush in embarrass.

"Awn, come on, DJ." You look back to see Gwen putting the movie back into its original box, shaking it with a playful smile. "For a slasher flick, it was pretty tame."

"Yeah, there was hardly any hacking. Not like..." Your boyfriend gives you a fake terrified look and uses a weird voice. "Bloodbath Two: Summer Camp Reign of Terror!"

"Oh, I haven’t watched that movie yet." You turn your attention between Duncan and Gwen. "Is it good?"

"Are you kidding? It’s just the greatest movie of all time!" Gwen gives you a wild smile, starting to describe gruesome parts of the said movie. "I love when the killer jammed that guy’s hand into the lawnmower!"

"Or when he pushes the chick of the dock and then she lands on the propeller blade that slices her in half!"

" _ **Or when he shoves that big dude’s head inside the wooden chipper!**_ " While the two teenagers finish describing the deaths together, DJ screams and hugs Leshawna in fear. Duncan and Gwen simply laugh together.

"But babe, seriously, you need to watch that movie. It’s the best." You shake your head at him with a serious face and he quirks an eyebrow at you.

"Nu-hu. The best slasher movie is _Scream_. You know? The movie that literally **saved** the horror genre? _._ " Duncan gives you a confused look and Gwen gasps.

"Oh my god, yes! That movie was so good! The beginning where the parents come back home and they discover their daughter hanging down from a tree with her guts spilled out!?"

"Yeah, I know! Or when Tatum tries to escape by going through the cat way but gets stuck and then her head gets crushed by the garage door!?" You hear your boyfriend chuckle, the deviant boy hugging you closer.

"Alright, alright. I’ll give this old movie a shot. We can watch both of them together back home when this whole thing is over, okay?" Your eyes open wide and you give him a bright smile, an idea popping into your head.

"Ooooh, can we do a horror movie marathon? Like a whole weekend where we binge-watch gory movies in the dark?" You see the excitement in his eyes.

"Hell yeah!" He kisses your cheek again and you chuckle, feeling quite happy. "You always give me one more reason to love you."

"Ugh, we get it! You’re a couple!" You both look back at Heather and send her a death stare, Gwen crossing her arms on her chest and looking rather annoyed. "But looks like you three got more in common than bad fashion sense."

… _I literally have no fashion clothing in common with them..._

"Seriously, it’s just mindless guts and gore!"

"Horror movies aren’t mindless." You nod at Gwen’s comment and open your mouth.

"Horror genre literally shows you the worst parts of humans. And they also teach you how to avoid death!"

"Yeah, and they’re full of psychological trauma…" The deviant boy snickers. "Look at DJ."

There’s a silence where everyone looks at a scared DJ still hugging Leshawna, the brown girl pushing him away from her in annoyance.

"Whatever. Does anyone have any idea what our challenge will be this week?"

"I thought our challenge was to watch that movie." Everyone gives you a weird look. "What? Didn’t Chris gave it to us and told us to have fun? That sounded suspicious to me."

"Yeah… also…" Geoff eats a chip, looking around. "Where _i_ _s_ the Chris master?"

Before you can question it, you all hear a boat engine and turn your attention to the dark horizon, wondering what’s happening.

* * *

You all arrive at the dock of shame rather fast, still asking yourselves what’s happening right now. That’s when you see Chris on the boat of losers, Chef throwing lots of luggage and bags in it with a scared expression. You quirk an eyebrow as you walk unto the dock with your boyfriend, his arm still wraps around your shoulders.

"Hey, yo, Chef! Where’s the fire?" The ex-soldier gasps and gives you two a terrified look.

"Chef?" You get worried and get out of Duncan’s grip to try and go comfort the not so expert cook. "Are you oka-"

You don’t even have time to finish your sentence that the guy’s already on the boat, him and Chris leaving the island rather fast and giving you two horrified looks as the rest of the campers arrive behind you. Owen takes hold of a green bag left on the dock, still smiling brightly.

"Dude! You forgot this!" You turn your attention to the blond just in time to see a newspaper fall, the big guy taking it and starting to read it. "Uh? Escaped psycho killer on the loose… Be on the lookout for a man wearing a hockey mask with a hooked hand and carrying a chainsaw!"

_Seriously, Chris? You’re gonna play a horror movie on us?_

"Ahah!" Izzy raises both of her hands and makes a creepy move. "He’s on the loose!"

"Oh, come on! They don’t expect us to fall for this!" Heather puts her arms up. "Scary movie followed by hasty exit followed by a strategically placed prop?"

"I don’t know!" DJ starts to tremble in fear. "He looked pretty spooked!"

"Please! It’s all part of their little stunt to freak us out!"

"I know nobody likes to say this but…" You tilt your head and frown. "I think Heather’s right. I mean, it’s obvious that facing a psycho killer is our next challenge."

"Thank you!" Heather points to you and gives everyone a smirk. "Even (Y/N) believes me, you guys!"

_What’s that supposed to mean?_

"If this was a stunt, will Chris leave behind his…" Owen gets out of the bag a small object. "… hair gel!?"

Everyone gasp except for you and Heather, the two of you sharing a bored expression. If it was a stunt, Chris _would_ leave behind his hair gel because he would _still_ be on the island watching you all. And the guy’s rich, he probably has thousands of bottles of hair gel.

"Woah!" Gwen grabs her hair. "This is for real!"

"Let me get this straight…" DJ’s voice cracks again, the boy almost crying. "Chris left us for dead and now we’re alone? While that psycho killer with a chainsaw is on the loose?"

Duncan smiles and shakes his head. "No. We’re alone while that escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook is on the loose!"

DJ screams and hides his head on the ground when Duncan shows his hooked hand a second time, the jock then looking back at the deviant boy with a mean look.

"I told you, dude! Not funny!"

"Ugh! Neither is your chicken little routine!" Leshawna gives him an annoyed look, her hands on her waist. "Get a grip, bro!"

"I can’t help it! I feel like I’m being watched!"

_Duh._

"Duh!" You grimace when Heather says the thing you just thought. "It’s a reality show! We’re always being watched!"

"Okay, look." Gwen instantly takes the role of the leader, a serious atmosphere coming off her. "It doesn’t matter whether this is real or a challenge, we need a game plan!"

"Yeah, yeah! We need a game plan!" Heather rolls her eyes at DJ.

"You little fright wigs might need a game plan, but I need a facial!" She walks away with her head high, you simply quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Are you crazy!?" The goth girl gives her wide eyes. "First rules in slasher films, never go off alone!"

"I might actually listen to you if I were in a movie. But we’re being pranked! You’re all so gullible! Hey, Chris! If you’re listening, next time rent one that takes place at a summer camp!?"

You smirk at her outburst. "Those are the most popular ones, so they were probably non-available."

"Anyway! If you losers wanna hang around and play boogeyman, go ahead! But I’ve got a date with exfoliation!"

Izzy chuckles as Heather disappears on the path to the bathroom cabin.

"And the bossy mean chick seals her fate!" The ginger girl mimics the sound of slicing a throat, Owen admiring her.

"Wow. You’re really good at sound effects."

"You know what? Even if I don’t want to, I’m gonna make sure she doesn’t die." You put your hand on Duncan’s shoulder and kiss his cheek before you walk away. "Stay alive for me, honey."

"You too, sugar."

* * *

"Seriously, just go! I don’t need a babysitter!" You stop filing your nails and look up to see the black-haired girl giving you an annoyed look, the girl only wearing a towel around her body with another small one around her head. You simply smirk and continue to file your nails.

"Heather, we both know this is a challenge. But I also know that I’m very skilled in horror movies while you’re not. So if you stay alone, you’re gonna get eliminated real fast. Really, you should thank me instead of complaining." You hear her groan and your smirk stretches out. "But on a more serious note, I would like to know why you got so eager to get naked in front of me. Are you that excited to have me to yourself?"

"Ew, no! Shut up! You’re worse than a boy!" You laugh out loud at her comment and have a hard time to stop yourself when you see her blush, the girl crossing her arms on her chest to try and hide it better.

"Sorry, it was just too tempting."

"Whatever. I’m gonna put my mask and shave my legs, don’t you dare look!"

_Yeah, like I would like to see her do those things!_

You chuckle as you hear her put on her green mask, you just continuing to take care of your nails as you hear the sound of her razor. After a while, you hear the door open and you look up to see DJ’s back, the boy slowly walking in without noticing you and Heather. You smile at him and open your mouth to tell him something, but he cuts you off when he turns around and screams upon seeing Heather’s state.

"DJ, calm down!" You try to take a hold of the big guy, but he only continues to scream and he takes a step back from you. Heather rolls her eyes and goes up beside you.

"DJ, it’s me!" She grabs DJ’s shoulders and looks at him dead in the eyes. "Heather!"

There’s a small silence where he just stares at the two of you, not reacting to anything. You’re about to relax and talk to him, Heather also releasing him, but he screams again. Rather loud too this time. He runs out and makes a huge hole in the doorway, you instantly running after him without thinking twice about it.

"DJ, come back here!" You stop after a while, not seeing the big jock anymore. "Where did he go?"

You look around for a while to try and spot him but to no avail. You then notice that some people are sitting around the campfire from afar and you run over there, hoping to find DJ... but when you arrive, you only see Duncan and Leshawna sitting down on the wooden seats. The brown girl quirks an eyebrow at you as you sit down beside your boyfriend, not expecting you to come back so soon. You take back your breath, the boy smirking at you.

"Girl, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to protect Heather."

"Maybe she missed me." The punk wraps his arm around your waist and kisses your cheek. "Did you missed me, babe?"

"Yes, but that’s not why I’m here." Duncan chuckles at your response and you smile back tiredly at them. "Have you seen DJ running around and screaming? He came in the bathroom cabin earlier and he just left completely terrified after three seconds."

"Didn’t see him, no." You groan and rub your face, not liking the fact that you lost him somewhere in the woods. What if the psycho killer finds him and he dies?

That’s when you notice that most of the people aren’t at the campfire either and you panic.

"Wait, where are the others?" Duncan smirk gets wider.

"Owen and Izzy are making out somewhere in the woods, so they’re probably dead. Geoff was supposed to go with DJ in the bathroom, but neither of them came back. So they are also probably dead. And Gwen ran over to where you were when she heard someone scream, but I doubt she’s dead, she’ll probably come back in a minute."

Duncan tilts his head at you, still smirking. You sigh, not believing that almost everyone possibly got killed by the psycho killer. Leshawna suddenly gets up.

"I don’t know about y’all, but I’m hungry. So I’m gonna go snatch some snacks in the lodge."

"Oh, I’ll come with you. Maybe we’ll find something there to help us." Leshawna smiles at you and you come to walk beside her, turning your head back to send a silent kiss to your boyfriend that he catches with a smirk. "Try not to die without me, babe!"

He rolls your eyes at you and chuckles. "Just come back with marshmallows."

* * *

You both sneakily look inside the lodge, all the lights already on.

"I think we can go inside. " Leshawna gives you a side look and squints her eyes.

"You sure?" You nod slowly.

"Yeah, it doesn’t look like there’s someone there."

"Alright."

You go inside and tiptoed your way into the room, both of you gasping when you hear a loud sound behind you. You turn back, gulping in fear upon seeing the now closed door, but Leshawna only sniffs around and smiles.

"It’s probably not that, but… I think it was the wind." You look beside you and lose your smile when you don’t see your friend. "Leshawna? Leshawna, where are you!?"

"Over here!" You turn around and walk into the kitchen, sighing in relief when you see her alive.

"Hey, look what I found!" You look back at her to see a tray of brownies in her hands, the brown girl eating one right away. "Now that’s what I’m talking about."

You chuckle as you snatch a bag of marshmallows from the table and put it in your hoodie, Leshawna still eating the brownies. You look around a little, trying to find something that would be useful, and gasp when you see binoculars right beside the window. You run over to them and put them into your hoodie, feeling the power of the survivors inside of you. You’re about to tell your friend what you found when you hear her name getting whispered in a creepy voice, making you both tremble in fear.

That when the lights turn off and you immediately go hide under the table, staying completely silent. You didn’t have the time to grab Leshawna with you, who simply runs back into the main room to try and go outside. You hide your mouth when you hear the chainsaw, hoping that this is a challenge and not a real killing spree.

" _Yeah? I got sixteen years in the project! Bring it!_ "

You hear Leshawna’s running footsteps get out of the cabin with the sound of the chainsaw following her, everything soon leaving you in the dark silence. You wait a couple of minutes, wondering if you can get out of your hiding place n-

* * *

" _ **Where are you, you little prick!?**_ " _Your body slightly jumps when you hear the dark woman’s voice._ " _You’re hiding from me, aren’t you!? **You stupid little-**_ "

_You’re hiding under your bed, the tears sliding down on your cheeks as you try to slow down your breathing. But you’re only four years old and you’re scared, so you’re making a lot of noise._

" _I don’t have time for games, you rat! You better get here right now or else…_ "

_You don’t even have time to react that a face appears in front of yours. A woman’s face distorted by disgust and rage. She smiles creepily at you._

" _ **There you are, honey.**_ " _You scream when she takes a hold of your arm, squeezing it to hurt you._ " _Come to mama._ "

* * *

You gasp, getting out of your hiding place fast and grabbing a knife to try and defend yourself, only to have your eyes adjusted to the black and empty room. You sigh in relief, wondering what kind of flashback you just got. Seriously, what was that!? You don’t even know this woman, why would you remember her trying to hurt you? And why did she said she was your “mama”? What about the first memory, too? This man who you called “papa”?

_Wait… am I... adopted…?_

You shake your head. No, that’s impossible. Your parents would have told you that if it was the case. Plus, they have a whole picture book of you when you were a baby, so that’s impossible. You calm down and smile, awkwardly chuckling at yourself. These fake memories must be part of your wild imagination that’s all.

You pat your hoodie to feel that the marshmallows and the binoculars are still in your pocket, slowly getting out of the lodge and looking around for any trace of someone. You see traces of footsteps on the ground and decide to follow them for a while, hiding behind the trees and the bushes to not be seen by any kind of killer.

If you can find your friends alive, you’ll try to save them.

The sound of an ice cream truck stops you in your tracks, making you look around to see Geoff getting followed close behind by Chef wearing a hockey mask. You feel yourself calm down upon seeing the ex-soldier; at least now you know that none of you will die.

"Hey, dude. Do you see an ice cream truck?" You hit your forehead when you hear Geoff’s question, Chef simply breathing heavily behind his mask. The blond guy shrugs, looking back in front of him. That’s when he realizes who’s been following him and he gives Chef a terrified expression and screams.

You have to stop yourself from laughing when you see the ex-soldier grab the guy by his feet and drag him somewhere else while the blond screams at the top of his lungs.

* * *

You come back at the campfire to see Gwen throw a bucket of water unto her sketches of all the campers, your boyfriend not around to be seen.

"Uh, Gwen?" She looks back at you and gasps.

"(Y/N)! You’re alive!" She instantly hugs you and you feel yourself having difficulties to breathe. "Oh, I’m so happy! Where’s Leshawna? Duncan told me you were with her!"

"I hide under the table while she ran away from the psycho killer following her." The goth girl gives you a terrifying look, but you smile at her. "Don’t worry, I followed their footsteps and hide until I saw Geoff getting trapped by Chef wearing a hockey mask. This whole thing is just a normal challenge!"

"Oh, thank god!" She smiles at you. "At least we don’t have to be scared of dying."

"Yeah, but Gwen?" She loses her smile when you give her a serious expression. "Where’s my boyfriend?"

"What? He’s not-" She notices that the deviant boy is nowhere to be seen. "Duncan? Duncan! UGH! You know what? I don’t care anymore! I’m gonna go make myself a sandwich!"

You watch her leave with a pissed off expression, not knowing if you should follow her or not.

"But, Gwen-"

"I don’t care!"

As she disappears into the darkness, you sit down on a wooden seat with plain old boredom, asking yourself if you should try and come up with a plan to beat the psycho killer or if you should just wait to die. That’s when you hear a slight chainsaw noise, looking at the horizon with suspicion as you get out your binoculars. You see your boyfriend throwing stuff at Chef on the dock of shame, making you chuckle and shake your head.

_Did he seriously try to throw a fish at him?_

"Well, guess I won’t be the one to fight the psycho killer. Pretty sure Duncan will win this… Ugh, but I don’t want to get killed! What should I do?"

You put one of your hands inside your pocket and feel the bag of marshmallows, a small idea of a plan forming in your head. You look back at the dark forest, remembering the path to a certain cave. You smirk, the plan completely formed, and you start to walk.

* * *

"Someone lost this?" Duncan shows the hockey mask as he comes inside the tent, everyone applauding him while Chef follows him right behind.

"Woo-hoo! Way to go, Duncan!" Izzy points to the screen. "Look, (Y/N) is going up in a cave! And Gwen’s taking up the psycho all by herself in the lodge!"

"Wait a sec." Duncan loses his smirk and gets a scared expression. "If Chef’s in here, then who’s in the lodge with Gwen!?"

"Hollylolla! It’s the real escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook!"

Everyone screams and runs out of the tent, trying their best to arrive at the lodge faster than everyone. Owen screams Gwen’s name with the most terrifying voice, making everyone even more scared. Chris points at Chef.

"This could be good for ratings, but really _really_ bad for lawsuits!"

* * *

You frown when you see the cave being lit on, letting you see everything as bright as if it was the middle of the day. You wonder if Chris installed those lights on the walls so that the viewers could see the campers better... or if it was for one of those parties your intern friend invited you to a couple of days ago. Maybe both, maybe not. Who knows?

You stop beside the huge brown bear and whistle at him to wake him up. The animal opens its eyes and sees you instantly, groaning at you angrily. You see him get up on his feet and prepare himself to bite you, but you stop him with a simple sentence.

"I have marshmallows."

And that’s how fast you become friends with him.

* * *

The people finally arrive at the lodge, gasping when they see the goth girl about to get chainsawed and not realizing that she’s in front of a real killer.

"Gwen!" She looks back at the entrance and quirks an eyebrow when she sees everyone give her terrified faces. "He’s the real escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook!"

Her face drops. "What?" The psycho killer screams in anger and she screams back, kicking his face a bunch of times before he can slice her in half and impaled her with his hook.

"Ow!" The killer has lost his mask, giving the goth girl an annoyed look. "Oh, that was totally uncalled for! Man, I am so out of here! I was treated way better in prison!"

The killer leaves the lodge under everyone’s stare, Gwen coming over to give Duncan a high five as DJ’s fall unconscious on the ground.

"Guess I win this challenge." The goth girl smirks before Chris shakes his head.

"Not so fast!" He crosses his arms behind his back, his bright smile back on his face. "We still have to scare (Y/N) in her cave!"

* * *

You’re sitting down on a rock in the middle of the cave, the bear sleeping behind you in your shadow to mask him as you wait patiently for Chef to come and “kill” you. Meanwhile, everyone’s tiptoeing outside just to see you get scared, Chris looking inside the cave. When he sees you staring at the ground with absolute boredom, he looks back at masked Chef and sends him a thumbs up. All the campers smirks and snickers quietly when he gets in the cave, most of them eager to see your reaction.

That’s when you hear the sound of the chainsaw and you look up to see Chef a couple of steps away from you, silently threatening you with his weapon. You continue to look at him with a bored expression, raising your hand slowly under the confused stare of the psycho killer. Everyone looks inside the cave to see what’s taking so long, only to see you snap your fingers. That’s when they watch a huge form move behind you and their face drop when a bear stands up, instantly groaning at Chef with his claws out.

Needless to say that the ex-soldier immediately drops his chainsaw and runs outside while screaming, the bear following him close behind. You get up from your place and walk outside, putting your hands on your waist and smirking at everyone.

"You guys thought I would get scared, didn’t you?" Duncan laughs and Chris crosses his arms on his chest with boredom, your boyfriend sending you a wink to show you his approval.

"Yes, great." Chris talks with a very annoying voice. "You befriended a bear. Woo-hoo. Could you tell it to not kill Chef, now?"

"Marshmallow, don’t eat Chef!" The bear instantly comes back to you and looks up at you with a sweet face before you pet him. "Who’s been a good boy? You’ve been a good boy!"

"Marshmallow?" Heather gives you a weird look. "What a stupid name!"

She screams and hides behind Gwen when the bear growls at her, making Leshawna laugh. You get the bag of marshmallows out of your hoodie and give it to your new friend. He takes it rather happily in his mouth and walks back into his cave, leaving you with all the other campers.

"Anyway, what took you guys so long? I’ve been waiting for almost an hour."

"Yeah, I was kind of facing the real psycho killer." Your eyes pop open at Gwen’s comment.

"What!?"

* * *

"Oh-oh! Well, it’s obvious to everyone that Gwen wins invincibility."

_Hell yeah, she does. Next time we’re trapped in a horror movie, I’m staying with her!_

"And sadly, it’s equally unanimous that DJ walks the dock of shame since he was the only one who screamed and bolted without the escaped psycho killer even being there!" Chris puts his hand on the jock’s shoulder, the fire camp putting a nice glow around everyone as DJ’s look down in embarrassment."But! No hard feelings, dude. You’ll be missed."

"Awn, group hug!" You all run over to the big guy and give him the biggest hug you can give, the guy instantly feeling better and smiling again. You then all follow him on the dock of shame, waving at him as he leaves.

"Bye, DJ!" You scream that along with others. "It won’t be the same without you!"

You all watch him smile again at you all, the boat disappearing in the horizon and leaving you all alone in the silence.


	21. TDI: Wawanakwa Gone Wild!

**Chapter 20: Wawanakwa Gone Wild!**

You’re walking around the camp with everyone, also petting your little Bunny in your arms as you tell him lots of compliments. You don’t notice Duncan rolling his eyes at you, not quite happy to see you give the animal so much attention. He can’t believe he’s jealous of a rabbit... but come on! You’ve been petting it for almost two hours now!

" _I thought DJ left with the bunny._ " You look up from the adorable creature to see your boyfriend with a frustrated expression, but you dismiss it and smile at him.

"Nah, we don’t want to take him out of his natural environment yet." You scratch Bunny’s head and awe at him. "You like living in the forest, don’t you? Oh yes, you do, my little bunny that I love very very much!"

Duncan groans and crosses his arms on his chest, different scenarios of killing the rabbit coming into his mind. He’ll do anything for you to give **him** attention instead, even though you might hate him if he _does_ kill the little bunny. His murder thoughts are interrupted when you all hear a scream, instantly walking back to Izzy, who’s standing under a tree with a dumbfounded expression.

"Wasn’t there just a three hundred pound bag of joy talking to you?" You snort at Gwen’s comment, but you stop and look up when you hear Owen talk.

"I’m only two-ninety-six!" You quirk an eyebrow when you see him trapped in the tree with a rope around his leg. "Someone set a trap…. Or two!"

Your eyes open wide when a huge cage falls on all of you, the little rabbit in your arms squeaking in fear and hiding further into your arms.

"Good morning campers!" You all look back to see Chris smiling wildly at you, taking a beaver off his head and holding it in his arms. "Or should I say… trappers? Ready for today’s challenge?"

The host gets out a knife and you suddenly fear for the little beaver in his arms, everyone gasping.

"Excellent! Then let’s chat about it over chow, shall we?" Chris leaves you all in your traps, putting his arm up and holding the knife up in the air.

"He’s coming back to untrap us, right?" As soon as Owen finishes his sentence, the knife cuts the rope and he falls on top of the cage, the impact of his body on it opening the door and setting you all free.

* * *

Duncan’s trying to eat the gooey white stew in front of him, glaring at your form from time to time. He grinds his teeth when he sees you feed the rabbit with love, his fist tightening his grip on his spoon. You continue to compliment the animal in your arms, the creature looking like its sending the punk guy a smirk. The deviant boy breaks the spoon and gains a couple of worried expressions from the others, the punk hating the superior stare the animal’s sending him.

"Campers, there are only eight of you left on Total Drama Island. After tonight’s dramatic bonfire ceremony, only seven of you will remain. We’re nearing the end, people! So look alive!"

* * *

"I already told you guys, I don’t care about winning." Your expression instantly changes to a sweet one and you pet the creature in your arms. "But I care about you, my little bunny full of love! Oh yes, I do!"

* * *

"What do you mean by "Are you scared Bunny will steal your girlfriend"!? It’s just a rabbit! And if that rabbit wants to play with me, it’s gonna get chainsawed!"

* * *

"Today’s challenge involves making like our provinces great Rangers and game wardens. You’ll each have eight hours to trap an animal-"

"Got one!" Duncan’s smirk as he holds Owen's hand, the big guy giving him a confused look.

"… a _wild_ animal, which you must bring back to the campfire..." The deviant boy instantly grins at the rabbit, silently threatening it to kill it. "… unharmed."

The punk drops his smirk and rolls his eyes in annoyance, not liking to see Bunny looking like he’s laughing at him. You look at your boyfriend and smile sweetly, the boy instantly smiling back at you. He tries to take a hold of your hand, really happy to have your attention now, but the rabbit bites his hand.

"Ow! That litt-"

You chuckle. "Awn, Bunny, that wasn’t very kind of you."

As you’re playfully grounding your pet, Duncan starts a death staring contest with the little creature, silently swearing that he’ll take care of the animal himself.

"Rangers and game wardens often have to relocate animals for their own good and the good of campers."

"For _my_ good?" Gwen gives the host an annoyed look. "I might barbecue my animal, I’m starving to death!"

"Funny you should mention that, Gwen." Chris’ smile seems to stretches out. "Reward for today’s challenge is a meal of all of your favorite foods!"

"I am _so_ winning!" You turn your attention away from Bunny to quirk an eyebrow at Heather, Owen pointing at the girl’s gooey white stew.

"So you’re not gonna eat that?"

"Owen, you do know that Chef’s food is really bad for your health, right?"

The big guy gives you a surprised look. "It is? But it tastes so good!"

_Oh my god, how hasn’t he died already?_

* * *

You’re all in front of the fish cabin now, Bunny still in your arms as Chris is handling a hat full of pieces of paper. He smiles wildly at all of you and Owen walks over to him to pick out a piece.

"Everyone chooses an animal assignment!"

"Chipmunk." After Owen reads his paper out loud, everyone goes to pick their own animal. That’s how you learn that Leshawna got a frog, Duncan a raccoon, Gwen a duck, Geoff a beaver, Izzy a deer and Heather-

"Bear!? Ugh! Are you kidding me?" Chris quirks an eyebrow at the girl while you pick the last piece of paper.

"Sorry, Heather, (Y/N) picked the last animal."

"Oh, really!? Then what did she picked, huh!? I hope it’s something really dangerous... like a bear!"

"Actually…" You look back at her with a bright smile, showing off Bunny in your arms. "I picked a rabbit. Guess I’m lucky, huh?"

"Are you serious!? She gets an animal that she already got right in her arms and I’m supposed to trap a bear with my bare hands!? "

"You do get sixty seconds in the boathouse to gather any equipment that might help."

"Unless there’s an animal trainer and a zebra carcass in there, I don’t think it’ll be adequate! This is ridiculous! I demand that she gets kicked out of the challenge!"

You roll your eyes when Heather points at you angrily, you looking back at the host to see him thinking deeply.

"Well…" You pout at Chris, the host tilting his head at the little creature in your arms. "It is a little unfair that you already won the challenge, (Y/N). How about you win invincibility for today _and_ the next challenge, huh?"

_You mean if I’m okay about not getting kicked off two times in a row?_

"Yeah, that’s fine with me." You reluctantly give Bunny to Chris when he shows his arms to you, your boyfriend grinning in victory behind you. "Can I help the others, though?"

"Suit yourself!" You smile at Chris and go back besides the other campers, Duncan putting his arm around your shoulders and kissing your cheek. Finally! That rabbit’s out and he can have you to himself! You chuckle from the attention he gives to you, Heather immediately groaning in annoyance at the sight.

"Ugh, I hate this! I’m leaving!" She passes beside the host and Chris sends her a weird look.

"I don’t think I’ve mentioned the penalty yet."

"I don’t care, I’ll take it!"

"Loser cleans the communal washrooms…" Heather instantly stops in her tracks, all the teenagers gasping in complete terror except for you, who simply smirk. You’re really glad that you’re out of the challenge… and you hope that Heather loses it.

"Alright, campers! You have just one minute in the boathouse to grab your greater catching gear!"

You send Bunny a sweet smile, the little creature trying its best to get out of Chris’ grip and run back to you. The rabbit desperately wants to separate you from the deviant boy, who’s currently kissing your cheek again. Duncan sends the animal a smirk and pulls you in the boathouse with him, Bunny screaming in anger while Chris sends the animal a weird stare.

You simply walk around the boathouse with your boyfriend, everyone gasping in shock upon seeing the chaos in there. You blush in embarrassment, remembering when you were trying to find a rope in here for the treasure hunt challenge. You pick up a few things from the ground, not finding anything useful to catch a raccoon. You decide to walk back to your boyfriend instead, who’s been looking down at a paddle. The boy drops it right after you join him and picks up a huge hammer instead, smiling heavily. You quirk an eyebrow at him, but Gwen talks before you can.

"Uh, you’re gonna trap a raccoon with a sledgehammer?" You notice that Heather’s trying to get a net out of the goth girl’s hands, the bitch girl also sending your boyfriend a weird look.

"You may want to rethink that, psycho." Duncan puts the hammer down and picks up a huge chainsaw, a crazy smile on his face.

"Ah-ah, thanks for the tip!" You hit your forehead, getting the attention of the punk."What? You don’t like my tactic, babe?"

"Chris said to take the animal back to camp without harming it, not to slice it in half with a chainsaw."

"So what?" The punk’s smirk only grows, making you sigh in annoyance. "I don’t see you taking it off my hands..."

"Honey, please?"

"Please what, sugar? You need to be more specific." You roll your eyes at him as he puts the chainsaw on his back.

"Dunc-"

"Ten seconds remaining!" Chris interrupts you by coming into the boathouse, the host getting out of Izzy’s way when she runs out of the place with multiple boxes in her hands.

"Ah-ah-ah-ah! Excuse me! Pardon! Coming through!"

"Is that legal? Can she just- Ow!"

Gwen and Heather push Duncan away from you, both of the girls falling on the ground. Your boyfriend slowly gets up and groans, you simply chuckling at him when you see that his hair is completely messed up now. He gives you a mean glare and you hide your mouth behind your hand to muffle your laugh, also trying to stop yourself from falling onto the ground. The deviant boy smirks and comes closer to you, an evil glow in his eyes.

"You think it’s funny?"

"N-no." Your body trembles from the laugh you’re holding in, stepping back slowly as you see him approach you.

"Oh, you _do_ think it’s funny." His smirk stretches out and you step back even more. "Let’s see how much you laugh when I tickle you."

"No!" You run out of the boathouse with your boyfriend right behind you, the punk trapping you right after and starting to tickle your sides with his fingers. "N-no, s-stop it! Stop it! P-please!"

" _Say you’re sorry._ "

"N-never!" You laugh too hard and feel your sides hurting, you trying to take a hold of his hands. "O-okay! I’m s-sorry! I’m sorry!"

You take a breath once he finally stops, the boy hugging you from behind and kissing your cheek with a smirk. You pout at him and nudge his tummy, not liking that he tickled you in front of everyone. The boy simply chuckles at you, still hugging you as the others get out. That’s when you notice Izzy throwing stuff out of the crates she took out with her, all of you having to dodge until she finishes.

"Score! Trap laser gun!" The ginger-haired girl gets out an orange gun and points it right back at all of you. "Guys, look!"

"Could you please aim the other way?" You nod in agreement at Heather’s comment, hiding your face with your hands to try and protect yourself from Izzy. You hear your boyfriend chuckle at you and he moves his hands up unto your shoulders, squeezing them slightly.

"Everybody ready?" You all smile wildly at Chris.

"Yes!"

Heather gives the host an annoyed look. "No!"

Chris ignores the black-haired girl comment and puts his arm up in the air.

"Game on!" Seeing everybody starting to run, you prepare to do the same until you feel Duncan stop you, his hands still holding your shoulders. You look back at him and give him a confused look, but he only smirks down at you and silently points to a kneeling Heather on the ground. You look back at him and send him your most serious look.

"Duncan, no. Dunc- Duncan!" You groan when you see him ignore you and go walk right beside Heather, you soon walking over to them with your arms cross on your chest. Your boyfriend smiles proudly at the black-haired girl, who simply looks up at you two and quirks an eyebrow.

"You can borrow my chainsaw after I’m done." You bite the inside of your cheek when you hear him say those words, not understanding why he’s helping her.

"Great!" You cringe at her sarcastic tone. "The bear can use it to skin me alive after he’s finished mauling me! Thanks!"

"Duncan, what are you doing-"

"Shh. " He puts his finger on your lips and you stop yourself from biting him, the boy returning his attention to Heather. "Well, I did pick something up that might help you."

_You did?_

You can’t help but smile when you see him get out antlers, the black-haired girl immediately giving you two a suspicious look.

"Why would you two want to help me?" You ask yourself that same question as Duncan smirks.

"Because if you team up with us, we’ll take you to the final three."

_Wait, what!?_

"Not interested." Heather gets up while handling a hook in her hand, instantly walking away.

"Suit yourself!"

"I usually do!" She smirks as she leaves, your boyfriend turning around to see you giving him a very annoyed expression.

"Uh, she’ll be back. Just wait." You shake your head at his response. "What?"

"You want us to ally with her!?" You point at her form, the deviant boy not losing his smile upon seeing your anger.

"Well, yeah. Why not?"

"She’s the meanest person I’ve ever encountered in my life! If you open the dictionary and search for the word “evil”, there’s a picture of her there! And you want me to try and be friends with _her?_ "

"Babe, honey, listen." He puts his arms on your shoulders and you shut your mouth, swallowing the insults you wanted to throw at the bitchy girl. "Heather’s behind a lot of eliminations _and_ she managed to stay in the competition until now. If we don’t get her on our good side, she’s gonna send the two of us home… You understand?"

"… I hate it when you’re right." Your response makes him laugh and he pecks your lips, ignoring your red cheeks of embarrassment.

"Well, _I_ love it. Let’s go trap that raccoon now." He takes your hand in his and pulls you with him, giving you a plan view of the chainsaw on his back.

"Babe."

"Hm?" He looks back at you with an innocent expression.

"We’re not injuring the raccoon." He smirks and rolls his eyes playfully at you.

"Yeah, I’ll let you think that."

" _Duncan!_ "

* * *

"Let’s go get this one." Your boyfriend approaches a small raccoon with small steps, the little animal searching for food behind a rock. You smile as you shake your head, happy to have somehow convinced him to not try to kill the animal yet.

"You do know that you might make him angry, right? He’s eating right now."

"Shhh." You roll your eyes at him, watching him take a couple of more steps in silence until he takes the attention of the raccoon. "Hey, buddy. Hey, little pal! Come on, let’s go for a walk!"

That’s when you hear groans of multiple creatures behind you, you and your boyfriend slowly turning around to see lots of raccoons sending you death stares. You step back from them, fear growing in your heart when you see more raccoons appear on top of the others, a robotic sound being heard.

"Duncan?" You hear your boyfriend chuckle and he puts his hand on your shoulder, pulling you slightly behind his back.

"Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be. I didn’t want to come to this, but-" He gets interrupted by the sound of his chainsaw that he just turned on, smirking evilly at the animals. You shake your head at him, feeling like this is a huge mistake he’s making.

And you’re right because you let out a scream when you watch the raccoons form a giant robotic animal, the new monster opening his huge mouth and letting out a loud shriek. Duncan loses his smirk, looking up at the raccoons with a scarred face.

"Well, that’s more than meets the eyes."

"Duncan, run!" You take his arm and drag him with you towards the camp, the deviant boy dropping his chainsaw on the grass. You let go his arm so he can hold your hand, both of you screaming out in complete fear as the monster raccoon follows you close behind.

"(Y/N), watch out!" You look behind to see a raccoon being shot right at you, ducking your head in time to dodge it. You feel yourself and Duncan run faster, both of you still dodging the raccoons with some difficulties. Your brain screams at you to give it explanation to what’s happening right now, but you can’t seem to get a response. Did Chris made killing robots with the appearance of raccoons!?

You look back in front of you and your face completely turns white, noticing a sharp cliff that you can’t avoid now. You squeeze your boyfriend’s hand, the punk looking back at the cliff and popping his eyes out upon seeing it. You scream when you feel a raccoon being shot at your backs, pushing you and Duncan off the cliff and making you two fall right through some trees-

* * *

" _Mom, I don’t want to do it._ " _You look up at the woman holding your hand._ " _Can we go back home? I want to see da-_ "

 _"_ _You’re never seeing dad again._ "

" _W-what? B-but-_ "

" _Enough!_ " _The woman sends you a death glare._ " _If you’re not jumping, I’m pushing you._ "

" _Mom, n-AAAAAH!_ " _You scream on your way down from the bridge, the deadly water staring right back at you._

* * *

You gasp and sit up, feeling pain all over your body. Confused, you manage to get up from the ground and look around slowly, wondering what kind of flashback you just got. Why did you see that woman push you off a bridge? Why are you having these memories anyway?

You forget about it when your eyes set on Duncan, feeling relief rush over your head when you see that he’s safe and sound. You tense up once more when your eyes trail over the raccoon on top of his head, staring at you menacingly.

_Why am I feeling like we got the worst animal?_

* * *

"Open the cage!" You arrive running over to the giant cage in the middle of the campsite, also seeing Gwen’s and Heather’s forms beside it. "Open the cage, for fuck sake!"

None of them have the time to open the door that you stop right beside them and open it yourself, screaming back at your boyfriend to arrive faster. The girls gasp when they see the punk arrive with the raccoon on his head, finally getting it off his face and shoving it right into the cage with violence. You close the door right after, both of you slowly getting your breath back. You hear Duncan laugh.

"Ah! What do you think of that!? We did it, (Y/N)!" You both high five each other, proud of yourselves.

"I’m never gonna look at a raccoon the same way again."

"Uh... Gwen won already?" You drop your smiles when you hear Heather talk, looking into the cage to see that a duck is already there with the raccoon you just trapped and your little bunny. Gwen laughs at the two of you and walks away with a proud smirk.

"Hey, host man! Bring on the chow!"

" _Don’t forget! The last camper to catch their creature cleans the washrooms!_ "

"Well, we’ve got nothing better to do." You understand by your boyfriend’s tone that it’s time to act friendly with the black-haired girl, so you smile sweetly. "We can help you bag a bear, dear."

That’s when Heather groans and massages her temples, reluctantly agreeing to ally with you two.

* * *

"Here." Duncan hands her the antlers and the fluffy tail, the three of you now unto the path to the bear’s cave. Heather squints her eyes at the items and gives you two a mean glare.

"No... No! See, the thing that’s supposed to happen is that I agree to be in an alliance with you two and you help me catch the bear! What doesn’t happen is that I wear a reindeer costume!"

"I’m pretty sure that you’re gonna wear the reindeer costume, Heather." The girl sends you a death glare as you cross your arms on your chest, smirking.

"How fast can you run?" The black-haired girl rolls her eyes at Duncan’s question.

"You also don’t ask me a gazillion stupid questions."

"Look. You put these on, the bear thinks you’re a deer! You run away and lead him to the camp grown!" Heather squints her eyes at him, then turn her attention to you.

"How fast can _you_ run?"

"Oh no. My job is to make Marshmallow quit his cave, I’m the only one he trusts."

"Ugh, fine! What about you, Duncan? Can you run fast?"

"I bet you’re faster." You chuckle at his comment and Heather rolls her eyes. "But what we _will_ do is follow to make sure you stay safe. Just guide the bear into the cage! I bet most of the other morons have already got their animals back at camp."

The girl gasps, the realization of losing coming to her like a ball in her face.

* * *

"You know, I could have just guided the bear into the cage with the marshmallows." You’re waiting beside the cave with your boyfriend, the deviant boy grinning with his arms behind his head as you’re playing with your camera.

"Awn, come on. You know it’s more fun this way." Duncan smirks. "Plus, you got to snap a pretty good picture of her, right?"

"Hell yeah." You show him the picture of Heather acting like a deer before you tidy up the camera in your hoodie, a bright smile on your face. "I’m gonna print this once I get home."

"Send it to me, then." You chuckle when you feel his lips on your cheeks, one of his arms hugging you close. You roll your eyes at him with a smirk.

"You got the marshmallows?"

"Yep."

You see the white bag for a slight second before he kisses you, making you forget what you’re supposed to do as you grab his shirt between your fingers. You then remember and put your head away from his, the boy grabbing your lips a couple of times and making you laugh. You take the bag of marshmallow from his hand and get out of his grip, sending him a kiss and finally going into the cave.

"Marshmallow, where are you? Where’s my big boy?" You see the big brown bear get up from the ground and look at you with a bright face, almost drooling once he sees the bag in your hand. "Wanna help mommy with something today?"

Next thing you know, you and your boyfriend are running after a bear in the woods, your big Marshmallow holding the white bag in his mouth with proud. As you arrive at the spot where Heather’s supposed to be, you’re surprised to see Izzy there instead. You share a look with Duncan and you both stop beside the ginger-haired girl, the brown bear continuing to run over to camp.

"Hey, Izzy. "

"Have you seen Heather?" Izzy stares awkwardly at Duncan.

"Who?"

"Eh, about that tall-" He puts his hand up to try and mimic the black-haired girl height. "-long dark hair, hot and wearing deer antlers?"

"Hot?" Your boyfriend instantly blushes in embarrassment and scratches the back of his head with an awkward smile. "You think she’s hot? What am I to you, then?"

"You’re a goddess and my life would suck without you."

You pout when he kisses your cheek, not wanting to show him that you’re satisfied by his answer. He chuckles at you and you open your mouth to talk, but Heather gets out of the bushes and face plant right unto the grass in front of you. You can’t help yourself but laugh at her once you see the sleeping dart on her fluffy butt, Duncan smirking wildly. Izzy gasps in horror at what she’s done, clearly starting to panic. You simply get out your camera and snap a picture.

"This is _so_ going on my facebook page."

* * *

It’s campfire time now. You and Duncan are subtly snickering at Heather’s state, the girl currently attached to a wooden board and drooling as you all wait for the bonfire ceremony to begin.

"You sure you don’t want to go to the infirmary to get your-" Your boyfriend stops to chuckle again. "-butt dart removed?"

"Not until… psycho host beast… goes down…!" She sends you and Duncan a hard look, but you both shrug at her comment and turn your attention to Chris.

"You’ve all cast your votes in a major decision. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow! The camper who does not receive a marshmallow tonight must immediately return to the dock of shame to catch the boat of losers and leave! That means you’re out of the contest! And you can’t come back! Ever!"

"We already know that, Chris. Are you sure you don’t have memory loss?" The host sends you a mean look and you smile brightly, your boyfriend chuckling beside you.

"The first marshmallow goes to… Geoff." Chris throws the marshmallow to your blond friend before he starts telling the rest of the names. "Owen. Leshawna. Duncan. (Y/N)… Heather! One marshmallow, two players. Izzy, Gwen, one of you has spent your last night on Total Drama Island."

"Just give it…" Heather tries her best to talk normally. "… to Gwen already!"

The host shrugs and throws the marshmallow to the goth girl, the ginger-haired one getting up with a smile.

"Eh, we all gotta go sometimes, right?"

"You could make out with me first if that would cushion the blow?" You snort at Owen’s comment, Izzy getting out a smoke bomb from her pocket.

"Goodnight everybody! Thanks for coming out!"

She throws the smoke bomb on the ground and disappears into the smoke, making all the campers gasp in surprise as you silently applaud her in your head. You look back to see Chris lower his head at Heather, smirking while showing her the cleaning tools.

"Being the loser… you realize you still have unfinished business."

"Duncan, (Y/N). " You lose your smile when she looks at you two from the corner of her eyes. "I require your services."

_I knew I would hate this alliance._

* * *

"Ugh!" You take a step back from the shower and hide your nose, your boyfriend turning his head to you from the dirty sinks. "The shower is disgusting!"

"Leshawna took like three froggy mud rinses today, don’t forget to scrub the ground with Gwen’s toothbrush!" You groan at Heather’s response and start to scrub the smelly walls, not liking this at all.

"When did Leshawna-" Duncan stops talking once he puts his head outside to talk to the black-haired girl. "...What happened to your paralysis?"

"What!? She can move now!?" You get out to see Heather faking being drugged, her tongue out. "Dude, you gotta come to help us!"

"Calm… down… It’s coming back slowly… like the memories of _you_ getting _me_ shot! Something you two will never-" You exchange an annoyed look with your boyfriend, who simply rolls his eyes at Heather "-ever be allowed to forget!"

"Yeah, and if you don’t come in here to clean these washrooms with us, I’m putting red ants in your bed again." You smirk when you see her gasp in horror, the black-haired girl rapidly getting out of her straps and coming inside with you. You and Duncan give each other high five, proud of yourselves.

If she thinks she can manipulate you, she’s dead wrong.


	22. TDI: Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon

**21: Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon**

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god-" You keep repeating those words as the helicopter gets off the ground, your hands squeezing the leather of your seat with all the strength you have. "WHY IS THERE NO SEAT BELT ON THIS THING!?"

You only hear someone laugh loudly at you, your own eyes slowly moving beside you to see a wild smiling Chris driving the helicopter.

"Welcome to host day, (Y/N)!" The psychopathic host moves the engine way too far up in the air, making you squeal in terror. "The first rule of being a host, you gotta love the danger!"

"I don’t love the danger, Chris!" You have to scream to make him hear you, the sound of the helicopter almost burying your voice.

"Well, too bad! You’re stuck in here now!"

"For fuck sake, you could at least close the doors or something!"

"Nah, it’s more fun this way!"

"Oh god, _please_ , let me survive this, please…."

Wonder how you got in this situation? Well, let me explain it to you with a simple flashback.

* * *

" _Hey, (Y/N)!_ " _You turn around from your friends at the table to see Chef talking to you while standing behind his usual counter._ " _Come over here. I gotta talk to you._ "

" _Um… okay..._ " _You quirk an eyebrow and slowly walk over there, feeling quite suspicious._ " _What’s up?_ "

" _The next challenge is gonna start tomorrow._ "

 _"Alright… why are you telling me this?_ "

" _Since you already got invincibility for it, how about you become a co-host, eh?_ " _Chef smiles at you._ " _You’ll help me prepare the different parts of the challenge and you’ll talk to the viewers with Chris._ "

_You blink a couple of times, slowly processing the idea._

" _Do I have a choice?_ "

" _No, you don’t._ " _The big man hands you a small note._ " _This says where you gotta meet Chris in the morning._ _Don’t tell anyone about this yet, alright?_ "

* * *

And here you are, sitting in the helicopter with Chris and a co-prepared speech in your head that you just rehearsed a couple of minutes ago. You try not to scream as the engine approaches the cabins of your friends, the psychopath still chuckling at your reactions.

" _Keep it down out there!_ " You look down to see most of the campers standing outside in their PJ’s, Leshawna and Heather sending the helicopter a glare. Gwen steps out, quirking an eyebrow.

" _What’s going on out here? Wait, (Y/N)!? What are you doing up there!?_ "

"Welcome back to Total Drama Island!" Chris looks at a small camera drone flying a few feet away from you two. "For the past six weeks, we’ve watched sixteen campers pushed themselves to the limit! And then get their butts kicked off the island by their fellow campers! Right, (Y/N)?"

"That’s right! Ezequïel, Eva, Noa, Justin, Katie, Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth, Sadie, Courtney… oh, hi sweetie! I miss you!" You feel Chris’ death stare on your back as the helicopter comes down onto the ground. "Oops! Sorry… Harold, Eva _again_ , Trent, Bridgette, Lindsay, DJ, and Izzy! Again!"

You get off the engine as soon as it hits the ground, Chris and yourself walking towards the now awake campers while staring at the moving cameras.

"Only seven campers remain now! And since (Y/N) here already has invincibility, she’ll be my co-host for today!"

You hear the people gasp, you watching from the corner of your eyes your friends giving you some dumbfounded expressions.

"What!? That’s bullshit! She can’t be a co-host!" You send Heather a victorious smile, your boyfriend rolling his eyes at the black-haired girl.

"Yes I can, Heather! And after six weeks of bugs, yachy camp food, and even grosser bathrooms-" You put your hands in the air to emphasize your words. "We, little seven finalists, are about _this_ close to losing it!"

"We came up with the best way to help the campers de-stress… then decided it would be way more fun to handcuff them together and see if we couldn’t push it over the edge!"

"Did Duncan parole’s officer send a care package?"

"Nah!" You shake your head at Heather with a wild smile while Chris talks.

"Only the name of today’s challenge! (Y/N)?"

"The Tri-Armed Triathlon!" Your boyfriend immediately smirks in interest, the big blond beside him giving you a worried look.

"Tri-Armed…? Like… three arms?"

"Yes! Three challenges! Three teams of two! Three arms per team!" You and Chris put your arms behind your backs exactly in sync, smiling at the campers.

"Have you met these people!? I am not being chained to any of them!" You chuckle at Heather’s outburst, Chris then saying the rest of the explanation.

"Winning team members both win invincibility to tonight’s vote! Which means that three people will be sure to not be kicked off tonight!"

"Ooooh, I wonder who’s going to be saved… Will any team even win? So much suspense! "

"Wow, you’re good at this, (Y/N)!"

"Thanks, Chris, I take inspiration from you!"

"Can you guys stop praising each other and let us start the challenge already!?"

_Well, way to destroy the good mood, Heather._

* * *

"Six looooong weeks." Gwen’s looking at the camera with her arms crossed. "I don’t know how much more of this I can take…"

She looks away for a moment, thinking deeply.

"The person who’s creasing me the most… Geoff!" She puts her arms down beside her and sends a hard look to the camera. "The guy is in a permanently good mood! No one is always in a good mood!"

She crosses her arms again. "And if he says “ _duuude” or “coool_ ” or eats with his mouth open one more time, I think I’m gonna seriously damage him."

The goth girl sighs and shakes her head. "At least (Y/N) is a co-host for today’s challenge, so it might be less annoying than usual."

* * *

"The camp is great and all… and I-I’m seriously stoked to be here! Yeah… I missed my buds back home…" A light suddenly appears in Geoff’s eyes and he smiles wildly. "Yo! If you’re watching, this is a shout out to all my bros' backies man!"

There’s a small pause where he loses his smile.

"It’s not that I don’t like everyone who’s left. They’re just kind of downers… Except for Owen, huh! That dude can _partyyy!_ " He scratches his left cheek, thinking. "Leshawna’s cool... and (Y/N) always show me magic tricks, so she’s awesome! But… Gwen and Duncan are like _so serious_ and Heather is freaking me out with all her strategy talk!"

Geoff looks at the ground with a sad expression. "I thought getting into the final seven would be like a big party, but… it’s kind of heavy, man."

* * *

"This place is torture, man. At least in juvie, we had a half-hour of television a day and they kept the lunatic locked up separately! I swear, if (Y/N) wasn’t here, I would have tried to kill someone a long time ago just because I’d be bored." Duncan looks around the cabin with a hard look. "I mean, this cabin is the only place I can go for some peace and quiet… Oh, and you do _not_ want to come in here after Owen!"

The punk guy takes a deep breath and makes a disgusted face before he looks back at the camera with a bored expression.

"Also, I don’t know what Courtney and (Y/N) told Leshawna, but all of a sudden she thinks I’m a “nice guy” or something and she wants to be my friend…" The boy makes a threatening gesture to the camera, his eyes turning into crazy ones again. " _I_ _don’t have friends! You got that!?_ "

* * *

"I can’t believe I’m still here." You shake your head with a small smile. "You’d think I’d be gone by now… I guess Duncan’s threatening to kill the others if they vote for me."

You look around the bathroom stall, not knowing what to do while you’re talking.

"I’m surprised Chris decided that I’ll help him as a co-host today. I wonder if I can use that as a reference for a future job." You chuckle, shaking your head another time. "Then again, I have no freaking idea what they’ve prepared. I’m just supposed to go with the flow. I need to help Chef do something right now."

You sigh and tilt your head. "Well, only one way to find out! Courtney, if you see this, I love you and miss you very much!"

* * *

"Sooooo…." You look up from outdated ingredients on the counter to give Chef a blank look. "… we need to make a bunch of disgusting meals, right?"

Chef smiles wildly at you as he cuts some slightly black looking vegetables. "You got it, (Y/N)!"

"… Well, seems easy enough."

You take random ingredients from the counter and forcefully shove them into a bowl, not even caring about what you’re doing in general. As you go on hitting the ingredients in your bowl like a certain fierce monster, you notice the whole thing is looking like a strange pottage with a weird mixture, color, and odor.

You look up from your creation to give Chef a long stare.

"Is that good?" The man turns his attention away from his concoction to take a look at yours, ending up sending you a thumbs up.

“That’s perfect! Now go join Chris for the rest of your host day.”

“You don’t need help to get the meals at the table?”

He just shakes his head to answer you, making you shrug and walk out of the kitchen to join Chris in the middle of the lodge. You notice your six companions standing up behind a table and sending Chris a long deathly stare, all of them handcuffed with their partner. You can’t help but snicker when you see Heather partnered up with Owen, Duncan, and Leshawna already wanting to cut each others’ throat while Geoff doesn’t seem to notice the hatred stare from Gwen.

Honestly, if you have to guess who’s gonna win this, it would probably be those last two.

“Hi, (Y/N), great! Now we can continue!” You stand beside the psychopathic man, crossing your arms on your chest. “First of our three challenges…”

“Competitive chow down!” You put your arms in the air, just going with the coordinated speeches Chris prepared for you two.

“Ahahah! Come on!” Owen’s smile stretches out and he seems to start daydreaming. “This is like a dream I had once!”

Heather sends him a hard look. “The donut copter dream…?”

“You had it too?” The black-haired girl rolls her eyes at the big guy, trying her best to not hit him in the head for being stupid. Chris nudges your side with his elbow, silently telling you to continue with the speech.

“Each team will choose a feeder and an eater! And eaters must put their hands behind them to make it even more difficult for the feeders!”

“Very well said! Oh, and one last thing!” Chris shows a crane key that he was hiding behind him. “This is the wimp key! A skeleton key that will open any handcuffs! You’d be offered the wimp key at each challenge to unshackle yourself from your teammate!”

“But...” Your first word makes Heather lose her smile and look back at you. “… if you choose to accept it, you’ll both be eliminated!”

“ _Hello_!” Gwen frowns in annoyance. “How do we win this thing?”

Chris and you both smile at Gwen’s question at the same time, your coordination creeping out the others while the usual host answer the question.

“Chef’s getting platters that him and (Y/N) have prepared for each team. The title goes to the team who finishes their platter of delicacies fastest!”

“And I can tell you that it’s gonna be a… disgusting challenge.” You see the teenagers look at you with wide eyes, not believing what you’re saying. “Did you seriously thought that I’d go easy on you guys because we’re friends? I’m taking the host job very seriously, you know?”

“Yes, you are!” You gasp in surprise when Chris starts to shuffle your hair around. “You’re gonna make a great host later, I’m sure of it!”

“Wha- Don’t touch my hair!” You try to push the host’s hand away, the man giggling like a maniac at your reaction. The others simply roll their eyes at the scene, moving on to decide who’s going to be the feeder.

Duncan gives Leshawna a side look, completely bored out of his mind. “I’ll do the chow down.”

Leshawna puts her hands on her waist, angrily looking at the punk.

“I don’t think so, scrawny chicken leg boy!”

Duncan squints his eyes. “Arms wrestle for it, then!”

“You _on_ , fool!”

Geoff awkwardly smiles down at Gwen, who was watching the little argument between Duncan and Leshawna.

“We don’t need to fight or anything, eh? We’re a team, babe!” He slightly chuckles, not noticing the goth girl staring at him with anger.

“You’ll be the eater then.”

“Cool!”

Gwen stays silent for a second with a frustrated face, which gets worse the longer she thinks.

“No! Wait… _I’ll_ be the eater.”

Geoff shrugs. “Cool!”

Gwen smiles in success, but she loses it right after.

“Wait!”

Chef arrives before Gwen can say anything else, stopping her in her sentence. While Duncan and Leshawna are still doing their arm wrestle, the ex-soldier puts the food you two prepared in front of each team, which makes Owen giggle in happiness.

“Delicious!”

Heather quirks an eyebrow at the meal. “I don’t think chicken is green in nature.”

“Hmm… maybe it’s lemon-lime chicken!”

Duncan, feeling like he’s about to lose to Leshawna, decides to cheat and uses both of his hands to win the wrestling battle, also sending the shocked brown girl his crazy psychotic face.

“Ah! Gotcha!”

You roll your eyes at him, already knowing why he wants to be the eater. Even if you assured that the meal is disgusting, there’s no way that he’s not going to be the one to try the food you make. As for Gwen, after she takes a long look at the food, she crosses her arms and looks back at her blond partner.

“ _You_ can be the eater.”

“Cool!”

She stops herself from jumping at him to kill him, simply waiting for him to put his hands behind his back. And he does so, along with Duncan and Owen, the last one accidentally making Heather fall on the ground upon his action. Chris stops messing around with you to continue the prepared speech, making you pout at him while you replace your hair.

“The challenge can now start!”

They all immediately eat. Leshawna keeps shoving food into Duncan’s mouth without waiting for him to finish. Heather uses the same technique on Owen, but the boy keeps telling her to go faster since he’s a food eating machine. Gwen, on the other hand, is using a counting system of three seconds to let Geoff know when to open his mouth, the blond not listening since he’s savoring the food. As for you, well, you’re simply watching them from the side, standing between Chris and Chef in silence.

That’s when Heather gets tired of the spoon-feeding and decides to take the whole plate of food and shove it right into Owen’s face, the boy then eating everything less than three seconds.

“The winners are…” Chris waits for you to continue his sentence.

“Heather and Owen!” You fake being happy for them, not wanting Heather to win even though you’re in an alliance with her.

“Alright, Owen! Way to go!” Heather smiles and hugs Owen in a moment of happiness. “You are one champion eater! What a team!”

“Hum...” Owen gives her a weird look, then smiles. “Thanks.”

You roll your eyes at the scene, already knowing that Heather’s trying to manipulate the whole audience into thinking that she’s now kind and supportive.

_Bullshit._

“Speaking of teamwork...” Owen gives Heather an awkward stare. “… how are you at toilet paper?”

You can’t stop yourself from laughing when Owen suddenly runs outside to go to the toilet cabin, Heather screaming in agony on their way over.

“Alright! Let’s get on the dock of shame for the second challenge!”

* * *

Chris shows the wimp key at the three teams with a wide grin, trying to tempt them with bittersweet freedom while you’re simply looking around in boredom.

“Last chance for the tempting wimp key before part twooo!”

Both Duncan and Leshawna immediately stare at each other in rage, silently threatening the other to kill them if they even think about taking the key. Heather gives them a long look, Owen breathing shakily.

“Look...” The black-haired girl looks back at her partner, waiting for him to continue talking. “… since you and I aren’t really seeing eye to eye on this challenge… maybe we should-”

“Zip it and focus, Owen! You’re not getting out _that_ easy.”

_Although getting rid of Heather in such an easy way would have been great._

“What’s the challenge, Chris?” Gwen gives Geoff a mean look, his nice behavior making her cringe.

“Why don’t you ask (Y/N) that question, Geoff?”

You grin evilly, pointing at the beach.

“On the beach, you’ll find three canoes! One for each team! Your challenge is to paddle your canoe...”

Chris’ smile stretches out as he shows the wimp key another time. “… while wearing handcuffs...”

“… all the way to Boney Island!” You ignore Chris’ evil laugh, continuing with the speech he gave you. “Once there, you will open a package that is waiting for you!”

“GO!”

As soon as Chris screams that, the three teams run towards the beach, almost running over you and the usual host with violence. You start giggling at Chris’ messed up hair when you feel someone grab your arm. Your turn your head in time to notice Duncan smirking at you, the punk kissing your lips for a quick moment.

“ _Make me win, babe._ ”

“ _ **Stop flirting!**_ ” He gets yanked away by a pissed off Leshawna, the two now running over their canoe with more rage. You just giggle, watching from far away most of the people starting to argue about who’s sitting where.

“Well, since this challenge is going to take them a while...” Chris puts his hand on your shoulder, pointing where the camera tent is supposed to be. “… wanna see them fight on the camera screens?”

Your eyes light up. “Hell yeah!”

* * *

By the time you both arrive in the camera tent (Chef also joining you with pizza and chips), the three teams were already paddling their way up to the island. You all concentrate on Gwen and Geoff first, the blond looking like he’s in the middle of telling a story.

“ _We put a cup and flag on it and actually plotted a few rounds before getting caught! The principal gave us the longest detention in school history!_ ”

“ _Will you **please… SHUT! UP!**_ ”

You stop munching on your pizza to stare dumbfounded at the screen, Chris giggling while Chef continues eating.

“ _Woah..._ ” Geoff loses his smile, giving Gwen a sad look. “ _Harshness..._ ”

“ _Oh, I know! I’m the harsh weird scary goth girl who’s being all mean and snappish as usual!_ ”

“ _Chill! I didn’t say that!_ ”

“Gwen is finally going to snap on someone!” You give Chris a side look and notice his evil grin.

“ _Come on, paddle!_ ” You turn back at the screen and smile when you see your angry boyfriend. “ _I’m doing all the work here and I know my half of the canoe isn’t the heavier half._ ”

You lose your smile.

_He did not-_

“ _Oh! You’re about to get my paddle somewhere you don’t want it to be!_ ”

“Yeah, go ahead, Leshawana!”

“Ooooh-” You turn your head back at Chef and Chris, who are both smirking at you. “Looks like Duncan might get in trouble, am I right?”

You roll your eyes at him, then focus back on the screen.

“ _Well I’m about to get in your face, and if I do, you are not going to like it!_ ”

Leshawna quirks an eyebrow at the punk boy.

“ _Oh yeah? I don’t think you will. I think you talk a big game, but underneath, you’re nothing but a big cream puff._ ”

“ _Says who!?_ ”

It’s your turn to quirk an eyebrow, wondering why your boyfriend hasn’t guessed that you and Courtney talked to the other girls from time to time.

“ _I’ve got eyes. You obviously got it bad for (Y/N) and Courtney. And don’t you even_ _ **try**_ _to deny it!_ ”

“ _Oh, that’s all you got? Big deal! They’re hot!_ ”

You throw an empty soda at the screen, ignoring the adults laugh beside you as you hide your face in embarrassment. Leshawna just continues to stare at Duncan for a long time, not even phased by his words.

“ _They told me about Bunny._ ”

You gasp and Duncan loses his smile.

“Leshawna! You’re not supposed to tell him that! I’m never telling you a secret ever again”

“You know what, Chef? Maybe we should take one of the contestants here once in a while. I think the drama would just raise right up.”

“… _awn man..._ ”

“ _You couldn’t let DJ and (Y/N) think their little fluffy Bunny abandoned them!_ ”

Duncan stays silent for a while, then sighs.

“ _Okay! Fine!_ _My dog PD ran away on me when I was six and I didn’t want DJ and (Y/N) to have to go through that… especially (Y/N)..._ ”

“Aww, babe!”

“I change my mind, Chef. Let’s not take anyone here in the future.” You pull your tongue at Chris, too invested in what’s happening on the screens to have a full-on retort to his words.

“ _I knew it! I knew underneath all that crusty shell there was a big heart!_ ” You giggle at Leshawna’s weird sweet voice, Duncan rolling his eyes at her.

“ _Yeah, well, just… don’t go spreading it around, okay?_ ”

“ _You’re gonna paddle this thing, then?_ ” You snort when you see Duncan reluctantly paddle alone, Leshawna smirking. “ _Your secret’s fine with me! But you do know that (Y/N) is probably watching everything in the camera tent, right?_ ”

“ _What!?_ ”

“ _Yes, so I would watch my mouth if I were you. You don’t want her to suddenly start a fight with you as soon as we come back, now… would you?_ ”

“Alright, (Y/N), let’s go.”

“Huh?” You turn your head to blink in confusion at a standing Chris. “Go where?”

You don’t like his smile at all.

* * *

“I FUCKING HATE THIS HELICOPTER!”

You hear Chris laugh maniacally at your outburst, handing you a megaphone to talk to the teams on Bony Island.

“You know what to say, (Y/N)!”

You notice Heather and Owen trying to squint their eyes to see you and Chris, also trying your best to calm down your heartbeat.

“ _Welcome to the second part of the second challenge! Back in episode eight, our teammate Beth stole a Boney Island tiki idol!_ ”

Gwen and Geoff arrive with their canoe right beside Heather and Owen, the goth girl having a terrified expression.

“She said she returned that!”

You sadly smile. “ _Yeah, well… she didn’t! She just flushed it down the septic tank!_ ”

Everyone exclaims a couple of sounds of disgust, Heather dropping her part of the tiki idol unto the ground.

“ _Yeah, we know! I’m really glad I don’t have to touch that._ ” You shake your head, grabbing the leather seat tighter. “ _The pieces in those bags need to be returned to the cave of treacherous terror! And you wanna do it quickly, cause the longer you hold the doll, the worse your luck!_ ”

“Hey!” You turn back at Chris, who’s still grinning like a maniac. “Don’t forget the fun part!”

You sigh, noticing that Duncan and Leshawna are just now arriving too.

“ _Oh, and… one of you has to piggyback the other..._ ” Everyone gasps in horror and you roll your eyes. “ _Not my idea, guys. Blame Chris. Anyway… enjoy- Aaaaaaaah!”_

You get cut off by the helicopter flying away at high speed, your heartbeat speeding up again.

“ _CHRIS! STOP TRYING TO KILL ME!_ ”

“Hahaha, but it’s so fun! Just enjoy it, (Y/N)! The danger is fun!”

“ _IT’S NOT FUN IF YOU DIE!_ ”

“Pff, lame.”

“… oh god, I think I’m gonna be sick...”

* * *

You’re feeling like you’re dying inside, your head down on one of the wooden tables inside the lodge while Chris is out there doing something “fun”, you guess. Turns out that helicopters don’t just scare the shit out of you, they also make you feel incredibly sick. You’re lucky that you’ve learned tricks to not suddenly start to vomit out of nowhere, or else the psychopath host would have had a shower of greenish stuff.

“Here.” You hear something cling unto the table, and you slightly look up to see Chef giving you a glass of water and handing you some medication pills. “Take this, it will make you feel better.”

You look at the water and the pills suspiciously for a couple of seconds, but when you feel the sickness coming back you take them without thinking too much.

“Thanks.” You gulp down the pills and the water in a short matter of time, noticing the ex-soldier walking back to the kitchen area. “Hey, Chef?”

The man stops in his tracks to look back at you annoyingly.

“Um… why are you nice to me?” Chef quirks an eyebrow at your question, and you feel like you have to explain more. “I mean, I know I’m not supposed to do the challenge today and all… but I thought you and Chris would try to make me suffer in some ways… so… why are you guys nice to me?”

“Well...” Chef walks back and sits down in front of you, giving your head a small pat. “… after all that we’ve been through because of your… food problems...”

You cringe, not liking to be remembered of that.

“… I’m kind of looking at you as my daughter now… or a niece of some sort.” You give him a shocked look, but he continues to talk before you can say anything. “I see you like a sweet and funny girl who’s always trying to see the best in people, but could also win a war without a problem.”

You giggle at his response, making him smile.

“I’m not so sure about Chris, but I think it’s the same for him.”

“Ha! Chris being fond of me, that would be hilarious.”

“Well, you’re the only teenager he doesn’t insult behind your back, so I think it’s sane to say that he doesn’t hate you.”

You stay silent at that, not knowing how to react. You’re about to ask Chef another question when Chris’ voice comes out of the talkie-walkie.

“ _Hey, Chef. Is (Y/N) feeling better yet? The teams are back from the first challenge and I need her to explain the third one.”_

Chef gives you a small look, waiting for your answer, and you simply nod.

“Hey, Chris. Yeah, she’s feeling better. She’ll join you in a couple of minutes.”

* * *

You arrive beside Chris at the moment where he announces the last challenge’s winners.

“And that’s a point for the Gwen and Geoff dream team!” As Gwen and Geoff celebrate their point, Chris sends you a small smile that you send back. You can’t believe that the psychopath host would somehow not totally hate, let alone see you as a daughter or something… so your guess is that your parents might have threatened him to bring him down if he doesn’t treat you good enough…

That’s when you notice that the teams are standing beside their tables with red tablecloths on them, the third challenge coming right back into your mind and making your smile.

“So...” Chris walks over Heather’s table while you go to your boyfriend’s one. “… an awesome day, huh?”

Your grin stretches out. “Moldy food fight, carnivorous beavers...”

“But! It’s time for someone to win this thing! A point each for everyone but Leshawna and Duncan!” You and Chris both take the red tablecloths in your hands, waiting some time before you put them away at the same time. “Today’s final challenge…”

You throw the tablecloths away, Owen starting to scream when he sees the eliminated contestants’ wooden heads.

“Relax, it’s just Eva...” Heather’s changes when she notices something. “Ew! Two Evas! That _is_ upsetting...”

You put your hands in the air. “The totem poem of shame and humiliation!”

Chris continues the explanation. “Your task is to assemble the heads in the order in which your comrades were voted out, unless… you want...”

“The wimp key!” It’s your turn to take out a wimp key from your pocket, showing it to your friends. “Time for heads to roll!”

You see Chris whistling in a whistle, his evilness still presents on his face. You turn back to your boyfriend and Leshawna, sending them a wink.

“Remember my speech from this morning? It might have been the right order...”

Then you walk back to Chris to observe the events, Duncan and Leshawna grinning at each other from their place. You then watch Heather and Owen not making any progress, the black-haired girl to preoccupied with insulting the wooden heads than anything else. You also laugh out loud when you see Gwen and Geoff having difficulties to tell Katie and Sadie apart, even if you thought Geoff was in the same team as them.

“Let’s see what our most argumentative team is up to!” Chris walks over to Duncan’s table, his eyes lightening up as he takes Courtney’s head in his hands. “ _Whaaat’s thiiis….?_ ”

Duncan gives him a scared look. “Don’t!”

“Hey (Y/N), come see this!” Chris giggles as you arrive, the man showing you your initials inside a heart along with your significant ones.

“Babe, don’t look!” Chris laughs out loud at Duncan’s reaction. “It’s not funny, man!”

“Most guys kiss girls they like!” The host points at the punk. “Dude carves her head! Hahaha! Mister tough ain’t so tough-”

Chris falls unto the ground when he gets hit in the face with Sadie's head, Leshawna sending him an annoyed look from her place.

“Who said we gotta be tough all the time, huh?”

You giggle in happiness, sending your boyfriend a small smirk.

“That’s sweet, babe.” You kiss his cheek before you walk away. “Now win this challenge for me, will ya?”

“ _That’s it!_ ” You jump out when you hear Owen scream in anger, the big guy walking towards you as he drags a scared Heather behind him. “ _Where’s the wimp key!?_ ”

“Stop!” You share a look with Heather, the girl silently telling you to not throw your alliance’s away. “(Y/N)! Don’t let him get to you!”

You slowly walk away as Owen tries to get to you, Heather trying her best to slow him down.

“We… have… a...” You all turn around to see a not so conscious Chris holding Duncan’s and Leshawna’s hand up in the air. “… winner! The Dunca…. And Shewanan… take it! That means anybody can get voted off tonight except for… (Y/N)...”

He then falls back unto the ground, leaving you to free the teams from the handcuffs.

“So...” You get out a wimp key. “Who wants freedom?”

* * *

You laugh under Duncan’s kisses on your whole face, the punk boy hugging you close to him at the fire ceremony. Everyone else is rolling their eyes at your lovey-dovey behavior, but you’re not complaining. The punk said it was a reward for helping him and Leshawna win a point earlier, but you just know that he had missed _a lot_.

“You’ve all cast your votes in a major decision.” Chris’ voice makes the delinquent stop kissing you, the boy decided to just hold you for the time being. “The camper who does not receive a marshmallow tonight must immediately return to the dock of shame to catch the boat of losers! That means you’re out of the contest! And you can’t come back… ever!”

You shake your head at Chris’ speech. You don’t even have the strength to ask him if he has Alzheimer or something, just feeling happy to still have your boyfriend here with you. Although that might change in a few seconds… hopefully not.

“The first marshmallow goes to… (Y/N)!”

“Obviously.” You catch the marshmallow between your finger, sending a salute to the host. “It was nice working with you today, Chris. Can I use this as a reference for future work?”

“Sure! No problem!” He seems happy that you consider being a host as a real future job, the psychopath now continuing in giving marshmallows. “Next, Leshawna… and Duncan!”

You feel Duncan’s lips close to your ear. “Guess we’ll be stuck together for another few days, huh?”

You give him a sly smile. “Thank god for that.”

“Four campers are left, but only three marshmallows! The next marshmallow goes to… Heather… and Owen!”

Geoff and Gwen both lose their smiles, looking at each other in panic. You simply give them a sad smile, not happy to have gone with Duncan’s plan.

If you weren’t in an alliance with Heather, you would have thrown her under the bus.

“Yep! That’s one sure-fire way to wipe a smile off of campers’ face!” Chris’ smile stretches out. “Show them a plate with exactly _one_ marshmallow on it!”

* * *

“I ain’t gonna front. I knew that if it came down to a popularity contest, I was gonna lose big time.” Leshawna shakes her head. “I had to vote off Heather.”

* * *

Duncan angrily points at the camera. “You made a big mistake a few weeks ago, and I have a loooong memory!”

* * *

“I’d have to be an idiot to vote off anyone else at this point.” Heather crosses her arms on her chest. “No hard feelings! It’s just strategy.”

* * *

You just stare at the camera for a long time.

“… Still can’t vote for me, so… sorry dude.”

* * *

“I’m left with just one marshmallow for the night! And either Gwen or Geoff is about to go home!”

“It’s cool!” Gwen stands up, accepting her fate. “I had a good time.”

“ _WHAT ARE YOU DOING!_ ” Both you and Chris scream at Gwen at the same time. “ _You’re wrecking it!_ ”

Chris then proceeds to point at her seat, the goth girl sitting down reluctantly.

“The last marshmallow of the night goes to… Gwen!” Chris throws the marshmallow at your friend. “Geoff, it’s time for you to go, bro.”

“WHAT!? Are you guys all crazy!?” Gwen throws her marshmallow away, looking back at all of you. “Geoff is the nicest guy in the world!”

“Yeah!” Duncan points at her with a smirk. “Bingo sister!”

Owen gives his partner of the day an annoyed look. “As if Heather could defeat nice.”

“The power of nice is huge!” The black-haired girl puts her hands in the air, trying to explain your process of thought to Gwen. “And we’re not worried about _you_ in that department, Gwen… but I’ll be sure to get you next time, (Y/N).”

Duncan gives her a crazy look. “What did you say?”

“It’s fine, babe.” You make him look back at you and pecks his lips. “Don’t let her get to you.”

He seems to calm down, getting another kiss out of you. “Alright.”

“No sweat, Gwen.” Geoff taps the goth girl’s shoulder to comfort her, then walks away towards the dock of shame. “Ciao dudes!”

“Hey, Geoff!” The blond looks back at you with a smile. “Will you give Bridgette a hug for me?”

He sends you two thumbs up before he leaves for sure, Gwen soon following after him. She said something like she… had something to give him…?

“ _Hey._ ” You turn back to your boyfriend, who’s smirking at you. “Wanna go have some fun?”

You smirk back. “Hell yeah.”


	23. TDI: Haute Camp-ture

**22: Haute Camp-ture**

Multiple scenes from the last episodes appear on the screen as Chris’ voice is being heard.

“ _In today’s special episode of Total Drama Island… you’ve been watching Gwen, Heather, Duncan, Leshawna, Owen and (Y/N) make their way to the final six! It’s been a long seven weeks..._ ” The camera steps back from the suffering contestants to settle on Chris, smiling like always. “So! We decided to give our weary finalists a day off to contemplate how far they’ve gotten… and enjoy all the campgrounds has to offer.”

You make a disgusting face as Duncan pulls out Owen’s underwear with the fishing rod, Chris not being phased by it.

“But what happens to the campers after they walk the dock of shame, board the boat of losers and leave the camp? Where are these rejects living? How are they spending their time? And who do they think deserves to win the hundred grand? The losers are about to let it out hang out! And you won’t want to miss a word! Coming up… on Totalt! Drama! Island!”

_**Cue the intro music playing.** _

_Dear mom and dad, I’m doing fine!_

_You guys are on my mind_

_You asked me what I wanted to be_

_And now I think the answer’s plain to see_

_I wanna beeeeee famouuuu-_

_**Please stand by as the intro is getting skipped** _ _**by the author because it’s taking too long.** _

A gorgeous and luxurious resort appears on the screen, Chris arriving on a jet ski with his usual smile.

“Welcome to la Playa Des Losers!” The show then proceeds to show a variety of shot, some of them including voted-off contestants. “The all-inclusive luxury resort where our campers are sent after being brutally voted out of the game to lick their wounds and accept their fate as reality show has-beens! When we are down to three final competitors, their fate will be in the hands of these seventeen losers!”

“Aaaah….!” Sadie sighs in contentment, the girl sitting on a toolbar in the middle of the pool with Katie and Noah. “So cute-aah!”

She falls into the pool and accidentally splashes water on Noah, who sends her an annoyed look.

“Getting my shirt wet, why don’t you?”

Sadie laughs, not even bothered by the boy’s sarcastic comment.

“Sorry, Noah! Woo! You guys should come in, it’s _so nice-_ Ow! Something bit me!”

Katie gasps, putting her legs out of the water. “Was it a shark?”

Noah quirks an eyebrow. “Sharks don’t swim in chlorinated water, brainiac.”

“Noah’s right.” Sadie looks around the water in fear. “Besides, I think I saw the sharks getting seaweed mud masks.”

Cue a small shot of the sharks relaxing in chairs with Beth, then back to Sadie sitting back on her chair in panic and Katie sending Noah a long look.

“Okay, if it wasn’t a shark, what was it?”

There’s a splash of water and they look over it to see Izzy wearing a tuba mask.

“Ha ha ha ha! Sorry about that! I just had the urge to bite something, have you ever felt that? Like you just have to sink your teeth into something? Maybe that’s how the sharks feel, huh…? Okay, bye!”

She proceeds to go back underwater.

* * *

The screen shows Ezequïel relaxing in a hot tub with a Bridgette kissing Geoff, Chris’ voice being heard.

“ _As you can see, our campers have made themselves comfortable over here at our luxury resort. Looks like Geoff and Bridgette are happy to be reunited!_ ”

They stop kissing and turn at the camera to smile happily, Geoff starting to talk.

“Dude! This resort is off the charts!”

Then they start kissing again.

* * *

“Can you believe this place is right around the corner from that crappy camp drown?” Trent points to where everyone came from, DJ putting his arms behind his neck with a smile.

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Bunny jumps on him to cuddle with him. “I can’t hang here for a while… especially since (Y/N) send me Bunny a couple of days ago.”

You didn’t send him to DJ. Duncan did. Behind your back.

But the camera follows Bunny as he gets kidnapped by an Eagle, then dropped into a barbecue where a reddish Cody saves him from getting cooked.

“After I got my body cast off and the stitches removed, I started to realize… this place is pretty sweet!”

“ _Yo, Cody!_ ” The boy turns his attention to Trent. “ _Needs some sunscreen? You’re looking a bit pink, dude!_ ”

“No thanks! I’m trying to get a tan! It attracts the ladies!”

* * *

“I _love_ being a loser! This is _so_ much more my style! If I’d known how fat this place was, I would have gotten my butt kicked off in the first episode!” Lindsay hugs Tyler, giving him a sly look. “Plus, now and Tyler can _hang out._ ”

They start to make out, but when they stop, the blond gives the jock a confused look.

“Which one’s Tyler?”

* * *

A big closeup on Ezequïel’s golden necklace, the camera zooming out when he talks.

“Yo! Yo dog! Check it out! Being famous has totally changed my life! I’m just kicking it, yo! Got me some fly bling too! You like?”

Someone suddenly coughs, the camera turning its attention to Izzy showing off a green bikini bottom.

“Look! Someone’s bikini bottom!”

Sadie and Katie share a look, the latter opening her mouth.

“I think that’s yours, Izzy.”

The red-haired girl blinks in silence and looks underwater.

“Oh crap, it is!”

* * *

The camera takes a close look on Courtney, who’s laying next to DJ and Trent and angrily looking through a magazine before she throws it away.

“I don’t care how nice this place is, _I’m_ not supposed to be here! After I was kicked off, I found out _exactly_ what went on the night I was eliminated…”

Cue the flashback where Harold exchanged the votes:

“ _Let’s see how you like it when someone messes with your love life._ ”

“It was all Harold’s fault! _I_ should be in the final six with (Y/N) and Duncan right now, enjoying my time with them!” Courtney takes a small pause, Harold getting his head out of a bush behind her. “When I find out that little twerp, I’m going to grab a hold of him and wring his skinny awkward little neck!”

Harold instantly hides back in the bushes, Courtney looking around suspiciously before she stands up.

“You hear me Harold?! I know you’re hiding around here somewhere!” She looks back at the camera. “He has to come out sometime! And when he does… he’s going to get it!”

The screen now shows Harold moving around the bushes, scared for his life.

“Okay… I guess what I did to Courtney was pretty heinous… it’s just that Duncan wouldn’t stop bugging me and stuff… and I couldn’t kick (Y/N) off! She protected me…! But I’m so starving...”

His stomach grumbles in agony, the boy crawling looking out to see Courtney angrily taking off a floor lamp with her force. He puts his hands in his face.

“This bites!” His puts his hands in his face for a moment, then he crawls behind a Trent eating a plate of meat. “Pssht! Hey, Trent! Slide me some baloney?”

Trent looks at him for a moment. “… yeah, what the heck.”

He then throws the ginger-haired boy the baloney, watching him disappear in the bushes again.

“Dude, why are you helping him?” Ezequïel points to the direction Harold went to. “He’s a traitor, eh!”

“True… but he doesn’t deserve to starve to death! And he sure can’t come out here.”

As he says that, Courtney walks in front of them with the floor lamp, her threatening eyes looking around.

* * *

“I learned a lot during my experience on the Island with Heather.” The camera takes a closeup on Lindsay, who loses her smile. “If you’re going to have a best friend who makes all of your decisions for you, you should make sure they’re not a total jerk!”

* * *

The camera sets back on a now shirtless Noah, his white shirt hanging on the bar.

“Yeah, I was pretty shocked to be the third camper voted off. Apparently, I wasn’t bossy, manipulative or “dangerous” enough to make through… You can’t say I wasn’t a team player, though.”

Cue the flashback of when Noah wasn’t a team player:

“ _Oh, sorry. Wou-hooou...way to throw those murder balls… go, team, go…_ ”

* * *

“Oh my gosh!” Sadie’s smile stretches out, her hands holding Katie’s. “We have so much to tell you since we’ve been here!”

Katie gasps. “Can I say hi to my peeps back home? What’s up Torontoooo!”

“We’re having so much fun here! This resort _rocks!_ ”

“Yeah! Total Drama Island was _really_ hard.” Sad music starts to play, silent flashbacks of the fake twins appearing on the screen. “ _We even survived our first major fight_.”

“ _That was so sad. But we totally recovered!_ ”

“Totally!”

“And even though that was like so majorly hard, nothing was as hard as when we were separated.”

“Aww, Sadie!”

Cue the flashback when they were separated:

“ _I miss you already!_ ” “ _I miss you more!_ ” “ _I miss you infinitely more! Byyye…!_ ”

* * *

Courtney pokes the bushes with the floor lamp but quirks an eyebrow when she can’t find Harold.

“I’m in the middle of filing a lawsuit for wrongful termination of competition.” She points at the other voted-off contestants. “These people are witnesses! _I_ was unfairly kicked off! I should be kissing (Y/N) right now!”

The camera turns to Trent. “I didn’t see a thing, man.”

DJ looks up from his injured Bunny. “You got me.”

Noah shrugs. “Must have missed that episode.”

Katie frowns. “What is she talking about?”

Eva walks in front of Courtney while using her dumbbells. “Didn’t see it. Don’t care.”

“You _all_ know what happened! (Y/N) even said it two episodes later!”

“Hey, give it a break already, eh.” Ezequïel stops in front of the brown-haired girl, unaware of her hatred against him growing stronger as he talks. “I got kicked off on the first-”

Courtney hits him without hesitating, Lindsey stopping behind her with a frown.

“You just would have been kicked off in another episode. No one likes you that much.”

The ex-CIT gasps in shock.

“That is _so_ not true! _Everyone_ likes me! (Y/N) loves me too! And I used to be a CIT!” A coconut falls on her head, and she takes it in her hand with an annoyed look. “ _This_ is a coconut. We’re in Muskoka people! If you’re going to drop props on my head, at least make them geographically correct!”

A huge pile of snow suddenly falls unto her and buries her completely, then a small man falls unto the pile of snow on top of a luge and slides away, Lindsay looking at him suspiciously.

“Are you Tyler?”

* * *

“How would I characterize my experience?” Eva takes a couple of steaks on her plate, her voice still full of anger. “Easy. It sucked!”

_Cue some flashbacks with hardcore music showing Eva on the Island._

“My anger management issues improved a bit.”

Lindsay arrives beside her, confused. “Are you Tyler?”

Eva just hits her with a steak.

* * *

Noah looks up from his book.

“Did I get anything out of this experience? No. It was completely and totally uneventful.”

Izzy gets out of the water with a harpoon gun. “He kissed a guy!”

Noah looks at her in panic. “No, I didn’t it!”

“Yes, you did!”

“Didn’t!”

“ _Diiiiiid_!”

“Did! Not!”

Izzy starts to sing the word. “Did, did, did, did, did, did, did, did, did-”

Trevor clears his throat, getting the two’s attention.

“Um… I can break this tie… he totally did.”

Cue the flashback when he kissed Cody’s ear:

“ _Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!_ ”

The camera comes back on Noah, who crosses his arms.

“I have no comment.”

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” Lindsay arrives running, a wide grin on her face. “I got a letter from my sister that said that there’s a picture of me in Stars Stocker magazine! _Eeeeeeeee!_ ”

Katie and Sadie applaud and screams in excitement with her, Noah rolling his eyes.

“Eeeeeeh… Congratulations, you just peeked. It’s all down-hill from here, honey.”

“Maybe if I get an eating disorder like (Y/N) or get my boobs done, I’ll be on the cover!”

“ _So, Trent._ ” The boy turns his attention at the camera, hearing Chris’ voice. “ _If you could say something to one of the six remaining campers, what would it be?_ ”

“Um… I guess I’d tell Gwen that I’m rooting for her...” He takes a small pause. “… and… I miss her...”

Cue the flashback where Trent and Gwen had to say goodbye:

“ _I want you to be tough and fight to the end for both of us. I’ll be watching and cheering for you back home._ ”

Cue another flashback where Trent’s talking to the camera inside the toilet cabin:

“ _The fact that Gwen is so smart and independent completed with the fact that she’s incredible to look at is just making me nuts! She rocks my world! So yeah, I’ll take a scumshot for her any day!_ ”

Cue the last flashback of Trent giving Gwen a muffin:

“ _Hey. Snagged you an extra muffin._ ”

“She’s special...” Trent smiles. “And I think I’m in love with her.”

Katie and Sadie “Aww's” at that, giving the boy sweet eyes.

“I just hope she’s still not ticked at me about the Heather thing.”

“I would be.” Izzy frowns in anger as she points at him. “If she were me and you were still you, you’d be seriously maimed.”

“Um… that’s a little harsh.”

“You kissed her mortal enemy!”

“It wasn’t my fault! I was tricked!”

“Yeah, _right_ , that’s what they all say. My lips did what they wanted… my lips have a mind of their own… Blah, blah, blah, blah, fish cakes! Blah, blah, blah, I’m a liar! Blah, blah, blah, blah, haha!”

Trent gives her a weird and scared look. “… okay...”

“Now if you’ll excuse me… I have to go to the bathroom.”

There’s a long silence where everyone watches her stay in place, the girl eventually making a relief face after a while. Everyone screams in disgust, putting their feet away from the water.

“Ew, Izzy!”

“That is so gross!”

“What? It’s chlorinated! Sheesh!”

She then goes back underwater, not bothered by her pee.

* * *

Chris walks in front of the buffet table and stops beside the barbecue.

“Okay! You’ve seen how the losers are spending their time… now, it’s time to find out what they think of the final six!”

Eva appears in front of Chris, only three inches away from the camera.

“Heather can kiss my butt! It’s all her fault I’m stuck in this place! She’s a scum-sucking back-stabbing witch and I’m gonna enjoy watching her go down!”

“Wow! Tell us how you really feel!”

Eva squints her eyes at Chris. “I just did.”

* * *

Izzy puts coconuts on the barbecue, cooking them.

“Just putting a few shrimps up in the barby!” She turns her head at the pool. “Hey, Noah! That means you!”

The boy stops gulping his drink to send the red-haired girl a mean look.

“Haha! Just kidding! Okay… Well… I think Heather is a total psycho!”

Courtney walks around with the floor lamp.

“Heather is a formidable competitor, but I can’t say I approve of her tactics.” She stops for a moment, looking back at the camera.” I mean, reading Gwen’s diary in front of the whole world? _So_ uncalled for! Also, there’s a rumor online that she might like _my_ girlfriend? So I hope Duncan gives her what she deserves or I’ll do it myself.”

There’s a ton of rumors where the fans are shipping you with everyone, but let’s not get into it right now.

As Courtney continues to walk away, the bushes move a little, the camera closing it to show Harold still hiding.

“Heather was definitely the scariest female on the island… but I can handle her!” He loses his smile when he hears something crack. “Did you hear something?”

“There you are you, little traitor!”

Courtney starts to hit him with the floor lamp, the camera moving Lindsay and Trent getting a tan.

“Ha-ha!” Trent puts his arms back behind his neck. “Poor sucker.”

“Wow!” Lindsay puts her pink sunglasses back on her face. “Glad she wasn’t _my_ CIT.”

Chris walks to them and puts his hands on his hip. “So, Trent, Lindsay. Give us your take on Heather.”

Trent shakes his head. “I hope I never meet anyone like her ever again.”

“She is _really_ mean.” Lindsay’s voice rises a little. “Like _really_ mean!”

Cue some flashbacks where Heather was mean:

“ _I’m calling my parents, you cannot make me stay here!”_

“ _That’s just_ _ **great!**_ _Why do we keep losing people?!”_

_Heather throws a ball in Sadie’s face._

“ _Why don’t you dodge this!” Heather throws a canoe at Tyler._

“ _I had to take the leadership role. Hello! We’re on a losing streak! And really, everyone else on the team is pretty useless.”_

The screen now does to Ezequïel sitting at the pool with Sadie and Katie.

“She was pretty bossy, eh?”

“Oh!” Katie frowns in anger. “She was _so_ totally bossy!”

Cue the flashbacks where Heather was bossy:

“ _Beth? Lindsay? Go warm up the shower for me… Now!”_

“ _Go get me some chips.” “In the forest?” “In the dining hall…? Now?!”_

“ _Go get my makeup bag from the cabin!” “But… the bees...” “NOW!”_

The screen shows Beth with her arms crossed.

“Telling her off was the best moment of my life!”

It turns back to Sadie, Katie, and Ezequïel, the bigger girl talking now.

“If not of us even liked her… how did Heather get into the final?”

Eva suddenly screams from her place.

“ _Cause she’s a Canadian back-stabbing little witch, that’s why!_ ”

* * *

The screen shows Courtney sitting at the pool, still holding onto the floor lamp.

“Who I would like to win?” She smiles. “Well, (Y/N), obviously. But since she doesn’t want to win… I guess… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I think I’d have to pick… Duncan… don’t tell the others though, okay?”

“ _Oh, we already know..._ ” The camera leans back to show everyone close by to Courtney, Izzy is the one talking with a smirk. “You were all over him and (Y/N)…”

Noah takes a sip of his drink. “My golden lab drools less over a ribeye steak.”

“And…” Lindsay’s smile stretches out. “… we’ve eavesdrop again.”

Courtney hits herself in the head in anger. “Ugh!”

* * *

DJ pets his injured bunny.

“Duncan? Man, that is one tough dude. I saw him wrestle a grizzly bear to the _ground!_ ” He hits the table Bunny was sitting on, the little pet being thrown in the air immediately. “ _Bunny!_ ”

* * *

“Duncan?” The camera moves up to see Harold stuck at the top of a coconut tree, the floor lamp wrapped around his body. “I hate that guy! He made me pee my pants! He drew on my face with a marker! He strung my underwear up a flag pool, put hot sauce in them and then fed them to me for lunch in an underwear sandwich! He’s beyond annoying! I don’t understand what (Y/N) sees in him… he’s an idiot!”

He then falls unto the ground, the floor lamp breaking with him.

* * *

“Duncan’s not as tough as he seems.” Bridgette makes herself comfortable on Geoff, unaware of Exequïel getting closer. “(Y/N) and Courtney told me that he has a sweet side to him. And honestly, if he’s (Y/N)’s boyfriend, he can’t be that bad.”

Her and Geoff notice Ezequïel smiling at them in a close distance, the boy then losing his smile and running away under their awkward stare.

_Cue the flashback where Duncan gave a new Bunny to DJ and (Y/N)._

* * *

Lindsay finishes gulping her drink. “Well, I think he’s pretty cruel. Anyone who treats deers and trees badly is not a friend to deers or trees!”

* * *

Katie and Sadie look back at the camera, the girls sitting down again at the bar.

“Owen? He was so much fun!”

Sadie quirks an eyebrow. “He was kind of mean in the dodgeball game.”

“Oh, I know!”

Cue the flashback where Owen was a beast in dodgeball:

“ _Game oooooooooon!” The boy takes a ball and throws it in Sadie and Katie’s faces._

Trent smiles. “Maybe he’s not so bad.”

Sadie gives out a smug. “We _all_ know who _you_ wanna win!”

“Yeah… Gwen’s definitely my choice.”

“Okay, but come on!” Courtney rolls her eyes. “She’s smart, but not exactly a team player! _I_ was a team player! It should be me!”

“You’re here! You lost! Get over it!” Noah groans in annoyance. “Plus, you’re just jealous that she’s spending time with your girlfriend-”

He gets cut off by Courtney’s drink getting thrown at his head, the boy falling into the pool just when Trent starts to explain his point of view.

“She let herself get buried alive for her team!”

Cue the flashback where Gwen got buried alive:

“ _Goodbye cruel world!_ ”

* * *

Lindsay puts sunscreen on her. “She was kind of harsh sometimes...”

Cue the flashback where Gwen was harsh towards Lindsay.

“ _Communion bathrooms? But I’m not Catholic._ ” “ _Not communion… communal!_ ” “ _It means we shower together, idiot._ ”

“Oh, but her and (Y/N) played the _best_ prank on Heather, ha-ha!”

Cue the moment where (Y/N) and Gwen put red ants in Heather’s bed:

“ _Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!_ ”

* * *

“Well, I think Gwen’s pretty cool!” Bridgette smiles, unaware of the hat coming closer to her and Geoff. “Her and Leshawna were so nice to me and (Y/N) when we merged teams… I’d vote for either of them to win!”

She notices the hat and slams her fist into it, making Ezequïel flee again.

* * *

“Okay, let’s talk about Lefanda!”

“ _Leshawna!_ ” Lindsay loses her smile when she hears everyone correct her at the same time, the camera moving on to Harold still dying with the floor lamp.

“First I thought she was really loud… but then, I realized… she’s my soulmate!”

* * *

“I can’t say anything bad about her!” Courtney smiles. “And I excel at saying bad things about people!”

“I think she is _so_ fetch!” Sadie giggles, Katie continuing her thought.

“She had the best style! We’ve been friends since the beginning!”

Noah swims by, bored. “You weren’t even on the same team.”

“Yeah, but regardless..!”

Noah smirks. “She locked Heather in the fridge! Anyone who can come up with something like that gets my vote.”

* * *

“(Y/N)?” Trent’s eyes light up. “Man, she was _so_ cool! Her magic tricks were awesome!”

Cue the flashback where (Y/N) did her first magic trick:

“ _I would like for you to tear the Queen of Hearts, please…. There’s another card inside, isn’t it?” “Yes, yes, there is!” “Which card is it?” “It’s the four of clubs!_ ”

“Yeah, (Y/N) was totally the best!” Geoff’s smile stretches out. “She was there for me when Bridgette and I were separated… I don’t think I would have survived without her encouragements!”

Bridgette’s eyes sweeten. “(Y/N) is such a nice person, you know? She was always trying to make everyone feel better no matter what, even the people who weren’t on her team. I’m glad we’re best friends.”

“Oh my gosh!” Lindsay smiles excessively. “She’s the greatest person I’ve ever met! She was my _first_ friend on the island, do you know that? And unlike Heather, she really treated me like one! She _totally_ deserves to win!”

Izzy chuckles like a crazy person. “She was super nice, but she also had a little crazy side to her… like that moment when she snapped at Eva? So cool!”

Cue the flashback where (Y/N) started an argument with Eva:

“ _What the fuck is your problem, Eva!?” “Someone stole my MP3 player!” “That is not a fucking reason to destroy everything around you and throw people out! What are you, fucking crazy!?”_

“She was a back-stabbing bitch.” Eva crosses her arms. “… but she could put up a fight, I’ll give her that.”

“(Y/N) was always kind to me.” Harold smiles. “I could never thank her enough for defending me against Duncan.”

Cue the flashback where (Y/N) lost her shit in the cooking challenge:

“ _You think it’s_ _ **fun…**_ _? You think making fun of someone is_ _ **fun**_ _? You think always pranking them and insult them is_ _ **fun**_ _? You think bullying someone is_ _ **fun**_ _? You guys can finish this challenge if you want, but I’m done with your bullshit._ ”

"I didn’t have time to really know her, but..” Noah shrugs. “She laughed at my references, so I guess she’s cool.”

“Oh, yeah! (Y/N) was cool!” Katie smiles wildly. “And she was so generous too! Remember when we saved her from drowning?”

“Yeah, I do!” Sadie claps her hand together. “She snagged extra muffins for us for two weeks!

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else to take care of Bunny with me.” DJ pets his even more injured bunny. “She has the kindest heart in the world.”

Courtney smiles sweetly, taking a stand of hair between her fingers.

“(Y/N) is perfect.” She slightly blushes, a couple of memories coming back to her head. “I love her so much. I can’t describe how I felt when she said I was her girlfriend.”

Cue the flashback where (Y/N) and Courtney were kissing:

“ _Is this why you put on lipstick earlier?” Courtney laughs and shakes her head. “Kinda sad that I ruined it, then.” “I don’t care. That was amazing.” You give her a slight smirk. “Does that mean you’re my girlfriend, now?” “I thought you would never ask.”_

“Aww!” Courtney’s blush worsens when she notices that everyone was eavesdropping again, Lindsay being the one talking. “Courtney, that’s adorable!”

“Ugh, shut up!”

* * *

It’s night time, and everyone’s sitting beside the pool while listening to Trent playing the guitar, a red Cody arriving beside the music boy.

“Dude!” Trent stops playing when he sees Cody’s state. “You got cooked today!”

“Who, me-ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Oooow!” He screams when he sits down, calming down after a few seconds. “… a little sensitive, ha-ha...”

“So...” DJ looks around in wonder. “Who do you guys want to win if you could vote right now.”

“Can I pick Sadie?”

“Aww!” Sadie smiles at her friend. “You’d pick me and not you?”

“Duh, you can’t vote for yourself. That’s tacky!”

“Hey! I’d vote for _you_ to win, and you vote for _me_ to win!”

Courtney clears her throat. “Girls? You have to be _in_ the final six to get a vote? Remember?”

“Oh yeah….” Sadie starts to think about it seriously. “I don’t know then...”

“Well, I think Gwen should win.”

“Really?” Lindsay quirks an eyebrow at Cody’s words. “But she rejected you on international TV for someone more cooler, hunkier and more stylish!”

“Thanks for pointing that out, Lindsay, ha-ha… Gwen is my dream girl… I’m just not her dream guy! But as long as she’s happy… Hey, I’m happy!”

“That’s really cool dude!” Trent puts his hand on Cody’s shoulder, the red boy instantly losing his smile and screaming.

“Ahh!” Trent gets his hand away. “… hurts...”

“Oops! Sorry man!”

“(Y/N) is my best friend, so I would vote for her to win!” Geoff nods at Bridgette’s comment. “But if I had to vote for someone else, I couldn’t decide between Leshawna and Gwen. They’re both really cool!”

“Leshawna...” Harold looks up at the sky with dreamy eyes. “… definitely...”

Courtney squints her eyes at him. “But you’d vote for (Y/N) or Duncan, right?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m going to post all your little _love letters_ to Leshawna… on the _internet..._ ”

Harold’s eyes widen at that.

“… fine, whatever. I’ll vote for Duncan...” He snorts, turning his head away once Courtney stops looking at him. “… not.”

“I think Owen should win!” Beth turns her head at Noah, who quirks an eyebrow at her.

“He’s a ticking time bomb of noxious fumes.”

_Cue all the flashbacks where Owen farted._

“Owen..” Geoff points at Beth. “Definitely! Dude can chug two liters of cola under a minute! He deserves a hundred g’s!”

DJ squints his eyes. “I don’t think anyone’s giving Duncan enough credit. He woke up from a monster nap and helped us win the dodgebrawl challenge.”

“Okay! That’s true!” Geoff fist bump DJ. “That was some sick prison strategy he pulled out of his butt!”

“He had all five of you whaling on one opponent at the same time.” Eva takes a pause. “I like his style.”

“Oh my god, guys!” Lindsay stands up. “(Y/N) should win!”

Everyone stays silent for a second, thinking about what the blond just says, then gasps.

“Oh my god, Lindsay, you’re right!” Sadie puts her hands on her head. “She _totally_ deserves it!”

“Of course (Y/N) deserves to win.” Courtney rolls her eyes at them. “She’s perfect!”

“See?” Bridgette’s smile stretches out. “I knew you guys would agree with me! (Y/N) should win, even if she doesn’t want the prize. At least we’ll know that she’ll do something good with it.”

Pink dust suddenly appears with a BAM between all the voted-off contestants, Chris walking out of it with a wide grin right after and his arms in the air.

“Ha-ha! Okay, losers! It is time for _the_ most unexpected twist of all time!” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Tonight, _you_ will be voting the next camper off Total Drama Island!”

Lindsay gasps. “No way!”

“Oh yes!” Bunny suddenly falls into Lindsay’s lap.

“… Tyler…?”

“Here’s how it’s gonna work!” Chris’ smile seems to get wider. “There are no marshmallows. I’m gonna ask you _one_ _by one_ who you would like to see joining you tonight at Playa des Losers! Katie and Sadie, since you share a brain, I’ll ask you both. Who would you like to vote for?”

“Oh! I miss (Y/N) the most!”

_Ding!_

“Oh, it’d be so much fun to have her here! Definitely (Y/N)!”

_Ding!_

Everyone’s gasps, Courtney sending them a horrified look.

“ _Why_ are you voting her off!? If you like (Y/N)-” _Ding!_ “-leave her in!”

“And that’s three votes (Y/N)!”

Courtney’s eyes widen. “What!? _No!_ ”

Harold squints his eyes at her. “Voting off your girlfriend to spend time with her, I see.”

“What did you say to me!?” Courtney turns her head back at him, starting to fight him off. “You’re the reason I’m not with her right now!”

They continue to fight each other, until they both fall into the pool, both screaming while doing so. Noah laughs evilly at that.

“ _Excellent..._ ”

“Okay, on to the next voter! Lindsay!”

She smiles, doing a small movement in the air with her hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna vote for (Y/N)!”

_Ding!_

“Lindsay!”

“No, you can’t vote for me!” Lindsay puts her hand on DJ’s arm. “You have to vote for someone who’s in the final six, like (Y/N)!”

_Ding!_

“Okay, come on, guys..” Izzy clenches her fists. “No one says (Y/N)!”

_Ding!_

The red-haired girl puts her hands on her mouth, horrified.

“That’s six votes (Y/N)!”

A parrot suddenly talks. “(Y/N)!”

_Ding!_

“ _No!_ ”

“Seven votes for (Y/N)!”

Trent walks towards the psychopathic host. “Chris… that was a parrot! He doesn’t even know who (Y/N) is!”

_Ding!_

“Ah! Polly want a (Y/N)!”

_Ding!_

Chris puts his hand in the air. “Nine!”

Bridgette stands up with a determined look on her face.

“ _Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna, Leshawna!_ ”

_Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!_

Everyone stares silently at the blond, mouths open in disbelief.

“Wow..” Chris shakes his head then smiles. “That’s ten votes… guess it’s time for Leshawna to say goodbye to the competition!”

“Bridgette!” Geoff gives her a dumbfounded look. “Why didn’t you say Heather’s name ten times?”

“I panicked!” She hides her face with her hands. “I just didn’t want (Y/N) to be voted off!”

* * *

A small scene is shown where Chef Hatchet is pushing a beyond shocked Leshawna towards the boat of losers, pushing her in it right after.

* * *

A still shocked Leshawna is now standing at the resort’s dock, a smiling Chris walking towards her and then putting his arm around her shoulder.

“And with that, we are down to five! Tuning next week to see the dramatic almost conclusion… of Total! Drama! Island!”

“Ah!” The parrot talks again. “(Y/N)! Leshawna!”

 _ **Please stand by while the credits do not appear on this page, the outro song also not playing**_.


	24. TDI: Camp Castaways

**23: Camp Castaways**

You’re sitting on the boys' cabin’s stairs next to Duncan, watching the pouring rain falls down as he’s carving a wooden stick to make a sharp weapon. You see Heather and Gwen sitting on the girls' cabin’s stairs, the goth staring meaningfully at the black-haired one while she’s taking care of her nails. You remember seeing Owen somewhere around camp, but you can’t remember where he went.

“ _Listen up, campers!_ ” You slightly look up at the gray sky when you hear Chris’ voice around camp. _“One of the most grueling challenges of any summer camp experience is the dreaded rain game, where all activities with even the remotest possibility of fun are canceled in favor of the craft tent! The forecast for tomorrow: rain, rain, and_ _ **more**_ _rain followed by… rain! See you all in the craft tent tomorrow at seven o’clock in the morning!_ ”

“Great.” You put your head back on your hand, bored. “That’s just great.”

Heather looks back at Gwen and smirks when she sees her death stare.

“Crying like a baby won’t bring Leshawna back, you know. It’ll just give you free mature wrinkles.”

You feel your heart sink, remembering when Chris and Chef took the brown girl away in the middle of the night. You’ve all watched her leave in shocked, not understanding why the other campers would vote for her to leave. Then, the psychopath host told you that it was a close vote between you and her, and you felt your world crashing down.

Were you mean to everyone that has been gone? Do they hate you that much that they wanted you to get voted off?

Needless to say, Duncan wasn’t very happy about it. You think you remembered hearing him mumble something along “Courtney better not be a part of this” or something like that.

“Why don’t you put us out of our misery and vote yourself off?”

Gwen’s voice brings you back into reality, your boyfriend chuckling at them.

“It’s so _nice_ to see you two getting along. Gives me the warm fuzzies.”

Heather crosses her arms on her chest, sending him a disgusted look. “In your dreams, nerd!”

It’s your turn to chuckle, the situation amusing you. Everything is so boring right now, you’ll welcome any kind of drama in your life just for some entertainment.

“Man, this stinks.” Duncan rolls his eyes. “Even Owen couldn’t put a shiny happy spin on this weather. Speaking of which, where is Owen?”

“Probably the place he’s always been in the last few days.” You yawn, your eyes the punk giving you a confused look. “The confessional.”

You feel fingers stroke your cheek as you close your eyes, letting your head melt into your boyfriend’s hand.

“You seem tired, babe.” You hum positively when you feel his hand free your face, slightly opening your eyes to see him put the wooden stick away and get up. “Let’s get you to sleep.”

He takes your hands in his and helps you get up, the boy dragging you with him towards the entrance of the boys’ cabin.

“You guys are already going to bed?” You have difficulties to hear Heather’s voice with the pouring rain and your tiredness. “It’s only the beginning of the afternoon!”

Duncan sends her a murderous look. “Shut up, Heather.”

You giggle while getting in the cabin, Duncan kissing your temple on the way inside.

* * *

You open your eyes in the middle of the night, feeling quite nauseous.

_BATHROOM_

You manage to get out of Duncan’s embrace, the boy grumbling in his sleep and hugging the pillow once you leave his side. You chuckle at that, still not quite believing that this tough punk can be so sweet and needy sometimes.

You turn your head away from him as you walk towards the entrance, your eyes still closing a little as you feel your body almost falling on the floor a couple of times. It feels like the whole cabin is moving, like a boat trying to survive on the ocean. Weird-

The waves engulf you before you have a chance to scream.

_You take the woman down with you, grabbing onto her as you scream and cry out. She screams back, trying to yank you away from her. But you don’t let go, even when you hit the water._

You get your head out of the water, trying to breathe.

_You heard her insult you with the bad words that dad always tell you to not remember… but you always remember. She makes sure you remember them._

The waves push you back underwater.

_You feel her push your head down._

You try to grab something, **anything.**

_You can’t grab anything._

You don’t know how to swim.

_You don’t know how to swim._

Duncan was supposed to teach you how to swim.

_Dad was supposed to teach you how to swim._

You’re gonna die. You’re go _nna die_. _You’re gonna die._

_You grab her and pull her down with you._

You grab a plank from underwater.

_You get on top of her, breathing in the air as you push her head down._

You get on top of the plank, and you breathe and breathe and breathe-

_She moves around a lot, trying to get away from your grip. But you don’t let go. No matter how hard it is, you don’t let go._

You hug the plank, crying out loud.

_She stops moving._

What the hell is happening?

_She’s dead._

A wave hits you again.

_**You killed her.** _

You see the sand of an island coming closer.

* * *

Chef keeps ringing the bell to tell that lunch is ready, the ex-soldier frowning when no one shows up. He watches Chris arrive on his usual vehicle, the psychopath host looking rather confused.

“Hey, Chef. You've seen the campers?”

“No!” The ex-soldier takes the bucket full of the disgusting meal he prepared. “And I’ve peeled the whole bag of rotten spugs!”

“Hm.” Chris scratches his head. “I can’t find them either! Come to think of it… I can’t even find their cabins!

* * *

Duncan screams when he falls in the water, waking up Heather and Gwen who both soon fall in the water with him.

“Where did all this water come from!?”

If Heather wasn’t busy spitting out water, she would have rolled her eyes at Gwen.

“How should _I_ know?” The black-haired girl gets her arm to show purple things on it. “Why don’t you ask the leeches?”

She then proceeds to scream as she shakes them off, Duncan shaking his head with a smirk.

“You know, this is so ridiculous. It’s almost funny.”

He loses his smile when a sharks swim by him, the three teenagers instantly screaming and swimming back onto the cabin’s patio. They watch the sharks eat the girls’ bed in one bite, shaking like crazy.

“Quick!” Gwen hides her face behind the wooden face. “We need something big and chewy to shove in his mouth!”

Heather closes her eyes in fear. “Owen!”

Duncan’s eyes go wide, his heart sinking.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” He looks around looking for you, panic rising when he can’t see you. “Where’s (Y/N)?!”

He doesn’t like that Heather and Gwen aren’t answering him back.

* * *

You throw up sand and water when you wake up, not quite believing that you’re still alive. You wipe away the vomit from your mouth once you’re done, looking around in confusion. What is this place? Are you still on camp Wawanakwa?

The flashback comes back to you.

You killed someone.

“ _(Y/N)!_ ”

You blink a couple of times.

“ _(Y/N)!_ ” You slowly stand up, confused by the voice.

“… _Duncan…?_ ”

“(Y/N)!”

You look behind you to see the boys’ cabin swimming towards where you are, Heather and Gwen still standing on the porch while your boyfriend jumps on the sand and runs towards you.

“… _Duncan..._ ” You feel the tears come back in your eyes. “… _Duncan…!_ ”

He instantly holds you in his arms, almost squeezing you to death, and you feel your whole body letting go of all the anxiety.

“ _I thought I lost you._ ” He kisses the top of your head, still not letting go of you. “I got to show you how to swim.”

You sadly chuckle. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

“ _Great._ ” Duncan slightly frees you so you can see Heather grunting her teeth. “We’ve just survived a watering apocalypse and you two are already at it.”

Duncan quirks an eyebrow at her. “Jealous, Heather?”

She gasps. “ _I’m not!_ ”

“Okay...” Gwen looks around in panic. “Is anyone else a little creeped out by this deserted island?”

You gave out a shaky breath. “Hum… a little, yeah… but...”

“Oh, please!” Heather rolls her eyes. “Any goofball can see that this is one of Chris’ cheesy production sets with fake props!”

She kicks a rock to prove her point, her face going livid once the pain sets in.

“Yo, drama queens?” It’s Duncan’s turn to roll his eyes. “We’ve obviously just drifted downstream. The producers will send a search party.”

“Hopefully, yeah.”

* * *

“Just to set the record straight...” Chris puts his hands on his waist, looking back at the camera with a hard look. “… my sets are _not_ cheesy! I lost three interns moving those rocks into place! And about that search party? Nuh-huh! Those campers are on their own! … except for (Y/N)…. but she’s smart, she’ll find a way to get back here safely on her own… right?”

* * *

“So I guess that means craft day is canceled! That’s a shame. I had planned a little surprise for them.”

Chef quirks an eyebrow at Chris. “You mean the surprise you planned for (Y/N)?”

“Anyway! I’m starved!” Chris smiles at Chef, ignoring his question. “Let’s eat!”

The ex-soldier’s eyes go wide.

“You actually want to eat this slop?”

Chris snorts. “Yeah, _right_. I meant the breakfast buffet back at _our_ camp.”

Chef smirks, giving out a thumbs up.

“Cool.”

They then both start to snicker, Chris bumping Chef’s shoulder in the process. Next thing he knows, he’s on the ground, Chef having hit him too hard.

* * *

“Well, well, well.” Duncan smirks at the camera. “Stuck on an island with my amazing girlfriend and two cool girls.”

He loses his smile. “Too bad the last two are completely annoying.”

* * *

Gwen crosses her arms on her chest, sending a death stare to the camera.

“So I thought to myself… they left me here to _die!_ ”

* * *

“Mental note.” Heather looks around the confessional. “Never sign up for a reality show _ever_ again.”

* * *

“Hum… Chris? Chef?” You give the camera a scared look. “You’ll come to get us if things get too dangerous… right?”

* * *

You watch Duncan lay down on the ground like nothing in the world could be wrong right now.

“Let’s just chill until the rescue team arrives.”

“What if there isn’t a rescue team!?” Gwen looks around in panic. “What if the producers think we’re dead!? I say we built a raft and try to sail back to camp.”

Duncan quirks an eyebrow at the goth girl.

“Good call. Let’s get more lost.”

“We _need_ to _build_ a _raft_!”

“We _need_ to _stay put!_ ”

“Build a raft!”

“Stay put!”

You share a side look with Heather, both of you really annoyed about what is going on.

“Duh! We’re not lost!” The black-haired girl talks before you, ending the two teenagers’ little fight. “This is just Chris’ lame attempt at challenging our shipwreck survival skills… _I’m on to you, Chris!_ ”

* * *

“ _Oooh…_ ” Chris chuckles, faking being terrified. “I’m _so_ scared!”

* * *

You look back at Gwen and Duncan.

“I think Heather’s right.”

“ _What!?_ ”

Heather gives you a surprised look.

“You do?”

You give her a small smile. “It’s the most logical answer to all this.”

“(Y/N).” You turn your head back at your boyfriend, who’s now standing in front of you with a hard look. “We _need_ to stay put.”

“If we were in any other situation, that would be a great idea.” You cross your arm on your chest, quirking an eyebrow. “But we’re in a TV show where we keep getting challenged daily. And that means that if Heather’s right, staying put is not going to help us because Chris and Chef would not come to get us _because_ getting back at camp is probably our challenge.”

“Are you serious?” Duncan points at Gwen. “Are you saying that we need to build a raft and try to get back? It would be suicide for you!”

“We’re sixteen. There’s no way we can build a raft and get back at camp by water, especially when we don’t know where we are in the first place.”

“(Y/N), you’re my girlfriend.” He puts his hands on your shoulders, giving out a hard smile. “You know you _have_ to be on my side.”

You flinch, Gwen and Heather taking a step back.

“ **I do** _ **not**_ **have to always be on your side no matter what**.” You push his hands away from you, feeling the anger rising inside. “I am a human being with my own opinions, and I will _not_ blindly agree with everything you do or say.”

“ **Well, that’s pretty selfish of you here**.” You don’t care about the anger you see in his eyes now. “Cause I’ve always agreed with you!”

“ _Well, you shouldn’t!_ ” You throw your hands in the air. “Or do you think that always agreeing with me is going to help me become a better person?”

“You know what? _Fine!_ ” He squints his eyes at you, crossing his arms on his chest. “From now on, I’ll never agree with you.”

“Oh, _really?_ You’re gonna act like a little kid right now because I say that we shouldn’t stay put?”

“We _have_ to stay put!”

“We have to find out where we are first! _Then_ we can decide what we should do!”

“Well, I don’t agree with you!”

“Yeah! I can _see_ that! Thanks!”

“Guys, maybe we could just build a raft-”

“ _We don’t need to build a raft!_ ”

Heather sighs in annoyance and puts her sunglasses on.

“I’m going for a walk.”

You look at her leaving you all, then back at Duncan and Gwen.

“I’m going with her.” You walk away, not looking back. “Try not to get yourselves killed.”

* * *

“Thanks for getting really tense.” Heather rolls her eyes at the camera. “You have to remember that we were soaked, covered in bug bites and starving! But I kept my wits about me, as _always._ It’s a good thing at least _one of us_ can remain call and collected in the face of adversity.”

* * *

“You know, I almost died _again_ last night, and Duncan’s already on my back about something as stupid as being on his side?” You shake your head in disbelief. “We are _lost_ on a deserted island! This is not something where we can just stay put until someone comes to get us! We have to prepare a plan, find food, find somewhere to sleep, and much more!”

You sigh, hiding your face with your hands for a moment.

“I love him, I do, but sometimes he can be very full of himself and I hate that.”

* * *

“You didn’t have to come with me, you know.” You give Heather a side look, the girl having walked with you in silent for a couple of minutes now. “I only left to get away from your petty fight with your boyfriend.”

You look back in front of you. “Well, sorry, but you seem like the calmest and the most logical person right now, so I decided to stay with you.”

She slightly smiles at that, but she loses it as soon as you turn your head back at her.

“Well, _of course_. I’ve always said that I was the greatest one here.”

You can’t help but snort at that, the black-haired girl giving you a confused look which makes you chuckle.

“Why are you laughing?” Your chuckle turns into a pure laugh. “Stop laughing! It’s not funny!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” You stop laughing when you spot a tree cabin, pointing at it. “Hey, look.”

“Huh, not bad!” Heather takes off her glasses, a happy smile on her lips. “Beat sleeping on the beach!”

“Yeah, I guess-” You stop yourself when you hear a long scream. “Did you hear that?”

She gives you an even more confused look, the girl already climbing.

“Hearing what?”

“That scream. It sounded like Owen.”

“Oh, _please_. That boy has probably drowned somewhere already.”

_That doesn’t help me calm down._

“Are you coming or what?”

You shake your head and climb up, accepting Heather’s hand to help you finish getting up. She smiles at you for a moment, almost genuinely, then she looks at the view from the porch.

“Nice view.”

You gasp when you look, the lake sparkling under the sun.

“Wow, that’s beautiful.”

“I’ve been somewhere better, but… I guess this could be called beautiful.” You give her a small smile, the black-haired girl turning to where you came from to scream. “ _Hey, you two! If you’re done yelling at each other, we found us a place to rest!_ ”

“Ugh.” You cross your arms on your chest, laying your back on the wall. “What did you called them?”

“Cause I know you’ll regret this later when you’re done with the fighting.”

You give her a surprised look. Is Heather being your friend right now? You’re about to open your mouth to ask her about it when she opens the door, a prop skeleton falling in front of her and making her jump.

“ _Heather!_ ” You grab her before she can fall unto the ground, pulling her back with you. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I’m fine.” She takes a breath in, then smiles genuinely at you. “Thank you.”

You look at her dumbfounded, and she just rolls her eyes at you.

“Jeez, stop looking at me like I’m an alien and just take accept my thanks.”

“… you’re welcome.”

“Good. Now, where are Gwen and DuncaaAAAAH!”

She screams when she spots the giant dinosaur’s skull a few meters away, the girl instantly hiding behind you for protection. You spot the two other teenagers getting out of the bushes, the two staring at the skull completely terrified.

“So.” You take your boyfriend’s attention, crossing your arms back on your chest while Heather continues to hide. “Still think we’re downstream from camp?”

“Okay, I’ve been wrong before.”

“Wait a sec!” You turn back to see Heather poking the skeleton with a frown. “This is just like when they sent us to Bony Island!”

“You mean it’s a prop?”

“Yeah!” She turns back at you, really annoyed at the world in general while Duncan and Gwen climb up. “Don’t you see? This is _obviously_ another survival challenge! _You can’t scare me, Chris!_ ”

“What’s _obvious_ is that we’re stranded on a deserted island and we’ll _die_ unless we built a raft!”

Gwen turns back at Duncan, who sends her a death stare.

“If we’re _stranded_ , then the producers will _obviously_ rescue us!” He looks at you, expecting you to say something positive about his idea. “Right, babe?”

“Don’t talk to me, I’m still mad at you.”

“What if the producers don’t know where to look?” Gwen shakes her head. “They’re not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, in case you haven’t noticed.”

* * *

Chris and Chef stare at the camera in silence.

“I’m gonna let that little comment… _pass._ ”

Chef nods at Chris’ words.

* * *

“I would be better off without these lunatics holding me back.” Heather sighs, staring at the camera. “Good luck lost in the wild without shelter! At least (Y/N) isn’t stupid.”

* * *

“ _Okay._ So maybe splitting up was a bad idea...” Duncan rolls his eyes. “I know I should make more of an effort to have an alliance with someone else than (Y/N) at this point in the game, but they’re all insane! I mean which one would you trust?”

He sighs, looking away. “And I know I should apologize to (Y/N), cause I was in the wrong… but she never agrees with me these days! So _she_ should _also_ apologize!”

* * *

“So are you going to apologize?”

“What do you mean, if _I’m_ going to apologize?” You give your boyfriend a shocked look. “No! I won’t! Cause I’m not in the wrong!”

“Fine! Let’s make a new rule!” Duncan points at and the other two girls. “ _Every camper for themselves!_ ”

“ _Fine!_ ”

You follow Heather inside the cabin, pushing the skeleton away.

“God, I’m starving.” You notice that the black-haired girl is sitting on one of the dusty beds. “Do you think we could find food in here?”

“I don’t think so.” You won’t comment on the fact that _Heather_ seems to genuinely act friendly with you. “But...”

She quirks an eyebrow, interested. “But…?”

You smirk. “I know where Owen’s stash is.”

You never thought you and Heather could get along so well.

* * *

“Hey!” You look down at Duncan, the boy having a bow on his back while Gwen’s finishing up on building her raft. “Where did you get that chocolate?”

You give him a smug, letting Heather respond.

“Oh, nowhere. Just Owen’s secret stash of junk food.”

“ _What?_ ” Duncan sends you a shocked look. “You don’t share that with me, but you share it with _Heather_?”

“Heather’s not being stupid right now.”

“You’ve got to share that with us, man! We’re starving!”

You quirk an eyebrow at the fruits and the giant egg in his arms. “Really?”

“Yeah, really!”

“Oh, no.” Heather takes another bite of her chocolate. “I believe the rule was _every camper for themselves._ ”

“Every camper for themselves? You two are clearly helping each other!”

“Well, duh. We’re the smart ones. And since we’re alone on this island-”

She gets cut off by a horrible screeching sound, the four of you looking around in fear.

“… or not.”

* * *

Chef stops blowing into the pink shell, smiling at Chris.

“Brunch is served.”

“Ah, brunch! Such a civilized meal, don’t you think? You’ve already digested you’re breaky, but! You’re not quite ready for lunch!” He gaps upon seeing a special food. “Hollandaise! You’ve outdone yourself, Chef!”

The host proceeds to eat the hollandaise sauce on his finger, Chef going back to blow into the pink shell.

* * *

You and Heather share a look upon hearing the horrible scream another time, the girl still eating her chocolate while you’re trying to not stick your head out of the window too much.

“It’s just Chris freaking us out!”

“Yeah, you’re right...” You shake your head, trying to push away the fear. “You’re right...”

Gwen pushes her finished raft towards the water.

“Well, whatever it is, I’m out of here.”

Your eyes go wide. “Gwen, it’s too dangerous!”

Heather rolls her eyes. “You don’t even know where you’re going!”

“Who cares!? At least it’s not here with you!”

You wonder if she’s directing that only at Heather, or if your friend’s throwing you in the lot too.

“I’ll trade you my egg in exchange for a ride.”

Gwen looks at Duncan for a long time. “… deal.”

You and Heather gasp in surprise, the black-haired girl running down to try and join them while you simply stay in the cabin.

“Hey! You can’t just ally and leave us!”

“Watch us.”

“But… but…!”

“Bye, Heather!” Gwen paddle away, the punk guy simply smirking back at her. “Good luck!”

“Don’t go! Don’t go! Um.. if you come back, I’ll give you Owen’s Malabars!”

They continue to leave, ignoring her pleadings. You sigh and let yourself fall onto the floor, your back hitting the cabin’s wall. You hug your knees and hide your face in your jeans, the flashbacks coming back.

They should all run away from you.

_You’re a monster._

* * *

“Okay. I have not been more terrified in my whole life.” Heather’s lips quiver in fear, the girl looking back at the camera. “They left us there alone on that island to die! I had to draw on reserves of inner strength I never knew I had.”

She sniffs, trying her best to not cry.

“If you’re watching Lindsay, I’m sorry I’ve hurt your feelings. You’re an awesome friend a-and Beth, ditto for you! Miss you guys! BFF’s forever!”

* * *

You just stare at the camera in silence.

“I should have been voted off instead of Leshawna.”

* * *

Chef plays some kind of cultural drums, Chris playing some limbo.

“Aaah! Fun in the great outdoors! Too bad (Y/N) and the interns are missing it!” The host comes back for another round of limbo. “We should send them a video of this… good times!”

* * *

“We’re gonna die...” You hold up your head from your knees to see Heather walking in, a panic look on her face. “We’re gonna die!”

“We’re not gonna die, Heather.” She turns to you, but you talk before she can open her mouth. “You saw all the props, no?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if everything around us is props, then we’re probably not that too far away from the original camp.”

“… you think?”

“I’m sure. We just need to guess which way to go and we can easily walk back there.”

She thinks for a while, then seems to calm down a little. “Alright...”

“Let’s just wait for the guys to come back.” You stand up and walk towards the porch. “Then, they’ll tell us which way they went and we’ll know where not to go.”

“Good plan.” She comes outside to sit on the porch with you, crossing her arms on her chest. “Let’s just wait.”

And so you do, watching the sun hit the sparkly lake in complete silence. None of you have something to say to the other, especially you, so you’re not bothered by it-

“This is horrible! Can’t we just talk or something?”

Well, apparently, Heather is bothered by it.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know. Things, I guess! You could tell me why you’re with that punk.”

You quirk an eyebrow at her, then smirk.

“Why do you wanna know that? You’re jealous?”

“ _I’m not jealous!_ Stop-”

“ **HAAAAAA!** ”

You both look at the bushes and scream when you see a big blond bearded man screaming at you with a coconut and a large weapon in his hands.

“Help!” Heather grabs you in fear, closing her eyes. “ _Help!_ ”

“The food!” You get up and go grab the rest of Owen’s stash inside, giving some to Heather. “Throw him the food!”

You both throw the chocolate bars and the marshmallows at the man, managing to stop him from climbing up to where you are. You frown when you see him take one of the pieces on the floor, then eating it with passion.

“Hm! Malabar's!”

The realization hits you.

“Owen?”

Heather gasps.

“Owen?” She squints her eyes. “Is that _you_?”

She jumps down the cabin while you simply stay up there.

“You completely freaked us out! And what is it with that big beard?”

She grabs his beard and tries to pull it, but the blond screams in pain and simply stares at the black-haired girl in shock.

“Heather? Is that you?” He looks up, his eyes locking up with yours. “(Y/N)? You’re here too?”

You smile sweetly at him. “I’m so glad you’re alive, Owen.”

As soon as you finish saying that, you hear Gwen and Duncan screaming from the sky, the two teenagers soon getting dropped by a weird-looking bird right beside Owen. The two looks up at the blond in confusion, not sure to recognize him.

“Owen?”

He instantly squeezes them into his arms, tears coming out of his eyes.

“Oh, my brethren! At last, we’re together! I shall never let go!”

As if on cue, a huge purple spider falls unto Owen’s shoulders.

“Oh, let me rephrase that… _AHHHH!_ ”

He lets go of your friends and runs up to where you are, the other three teenagers soon mimicking him. You just look down at the purple snake in boredom while the other four look like they’re going to die in the next few seconds.

“Well, what a nice situation we’re having here.”

“None of us wants your sarcasm, (Y/N).”

You send Duncan a death glare, still not forgiving him yet.

“What’s with the fake beard?”

Gwen pulls Owen’s blond beard without thinking.

“Ow!”

* * *

Chris takes a sip of his hot chocolate.

“So, Chef! How do you think our campers are doing on their… _deserted_ island!”

“Anything could have happened about now.” Chef smiles while he thinks. “Ate by a bear, fell off a cliff, starve to death...”

Chris loses his smile, a concerned look on his face.

“Hm… maybe I should check the monitors and see what kind of footage we got… you know, to see if (Y/N) is okay…”

“Chris, man. You are one dedicated host.” Chef takes Chris in arms, hugging him like a baby. “You’re an inspiration!”

The host smiles. “Thanks, dude. It’s what I do.”

* * *

You’re sitting against the cabin wall in the corner, Duncan leaning on the one opposite to you while Heather, Gwen, and Owen are sitting around on beds and wooden chairs.

“Okay. I spy with my little eye something that is caramelly.”

Duncan sends Owen an annoyed look. “Malabars?”

“Oh, right! Again! Okay...” The blond points at the coconut. “It’s your turn Mr. Coconut!”

Gwen shares a look with you. “He knows it’s just a fruit, right?”

“That’s it!” Heather stands up, more than annoyed now. “I am done with this game! I can’t bond with you guys anymore, because you’re all crazy!”

The punk quirks an eyebrow. “You say that like you’re not.”

“(Y/N) and I are the only ones left on the show with a _shred_ of sanity.”

Duncan snorts. “And this is coming from the girl who changes friends more often than I change socks.”

“You never change your socks.”

He sends you a death stare, and you simply smirk back.

“Well, _I_ at least have my game on!”

“Game on?” Gwen stands up, angry. “ _Hello!_ None of us are in the competition because the producers think we’re dead! Which means we’re gonna die on this stupid island!”

“We are?” Owen looks at you, but he screams in panic before you can say anything. “Heavenly Hash! We’re gonna die! And I’ve never even had a date! Or held hands! Or fulfilled any of my Owen gets famous fantasies! Like the one where I-”

“ _Stop!_ ” Gwen hides her ears and makes a disgusted face. “Make him stop!”

Heather takes a banana and puts it in Owen’s mouth, the boy eating it all in one bite.

“… thanks.”

* * *

“And that’s how I thought… this is how I’m gonna die!” Gwen points her head. “My brain was actually going to explode from frustration!”

* * *

“I wish Duncan would just apologize so we can die without any regrets.” You cross your arms on your chest, still feeling quite frustrated. “No way that _I’m_ going to be the one to make up _again_!”

* * *

“Guys!” Owen seems to realize something. “You know what we have to do?”

“We run for our lives and leave you and Mr. Coconut behind?”

You can’t help but snort at Duncan’s comment, the boy giving you a proud side look.

“No… we need to confess our sins!”

You all give the blond shocked looks.

“Huh… not!”

“No, seriously! I confessed all my sins and felt great! Don’t you want to clear your conscience before you die?”

You all share a long look, wondering if this could be a good idea.

“Alright!” Gwen sits back down on the bed, looking back at all of you. “I’ll start.”

“Oh, this should be interesting.”

She sends Duncan a hard look while he sits beside her, Heather sitting beside you against the wall instead.

“Okay, so...” Gwen looks around shyly, feeling quite embarrassed. “You know how I said that I’ve never been invited to the cool parties and all?”

You all nod, waiting for her to continue.

“Well, when I was younger, I was really desperate to get to one… so I approached this popular group of girls and asked them if they could let me in.”

“Classic move.”

“Just let me talk, will you!?”

Duncan mimics sealing his lips, not saying a word after.

“Anyway, they told me that I wasn’t worthy of being popular, but that if I was desperate enough, I could do some… bad things for them.”

Heather quirks an eyebrow. “What did you do?”

Gwen sighs. “They asked me to manipulate this new girl.”

“Oh, that’s nothing.” Heather rolls her eyes in boredom, but Gwen gives her a long look.

“No, I mean, _really_ manipulate her.” She hugs herself, looking down. “I made a boy’s profile online and made her fall in love with me.”

Your expression falls. “Oh no.”

“Then I’ve… convinced her to send me her naked pictures.”

“No, no, no-”

“And I’ve sent them to the whole school.”

You hide your face behind your hands, seeing the whole situation in your head. You think you hear Heather gasps in shock, while Owen’s simply talking to Mr. Coconut. You look in between your fingers, seeing your boyfriend giving the goth girl a beyond shocked look.

“She changed schools, but the pictures kept coming back… so she had to left the country.” Gwen plays with her fingers, not wanting to look at you all. “That’s the thing that I regret the most...”

“Oh god, Gwen...” You shake your head, not quite believing it. “I never thought you could have done something like that...”

“Yeah, well… me neither.” She looks back at you and Heather. “Okay, I’ve talked. Now it’s your turn.”

Heather crosses her arms on her chest. “I have nothing to say.”

“Awn, come on!” Duncan gives her a hard look. “You’ve been a huge pain in the ass since the beginning. Surely you’ve done some pretty nasty things in the past.”

“Yeah, I did! And I don’t regret any of them!”

You quirk an eyebrow at her. “You don’t even regret one?”

She looks at you for a long time, then sighs.

“I… used to like this girl...”

You all gasp, not having expected her to like girls.

“Oh, calm down you guys. Yes, I like girls, big deal.” She points at you, annoyed. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the only gay person in this show.”

“Yeah, but… how having liked this girl in the past your regret?”

She sends Gwen a hard look. “Well, I wasn’t open with my sexuality back then.”

“Okay...”

“I let you talk when you said your regret. I would appreciate if you could do the same for me.”

Gwen puts her hands in front of her to show that she understands, the goth girl then staying silent.

“So… I wasn’t open with my sexuality… but this girl was. And I loved and hated her for it.” Heather slightly shifts on her butt, uncomfortable for multiple reasons. “I couldn’t understand why she was so _okay_ with her sexuality open like that… and I _hated_ that she had a girlfriend.”

“She had a girlfriend?”

“Shh.” She puts her hand on your mouth, letting you know to let her finish. “Anyway, every week, this girl had swimming practice, which meant that she took a shower after every single practice.”

Your eyes open wide, a million ideas coming into your head.

“So.. one day, I snapped, and while she was practicing, I opened her locker....”

_Oh no._

“I took her usual shampoo...”

_Oh god, please tell me you didn’t-_

“And I put Nair cream in it instead.” Heather frees your mouth and looks at her nails. “When she got out of the shower, she was completely bald.”

“Oh my god...”

Duncan frowns, trying to imagine it.

“The whole school laughed at her for weeks, of course. They said she lost her hair because she was a lesbian. An easy and pathetic insult, if you ask me, but it made her lose her confidence and made me gain some” She notices your shocked faces and she sighs. “I regret it today, guys.”

“Yeah, we can see that.”

Heather sends Duncan a hard look. “Oh yeah? Then how about you tell us one regret, mister?”

He quirks an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Like why you went to juvie, maybe?”

“Ha! Like I would tell you guys what I did.”

Gwen rolls her eyes. “You’re just afraid (Y/N) will hate you if you tell her.”

“She already hates me, thank you very much.”

“No, I don’t.”

He gives you a surprised look. “You’re not?”

“I’m a little pissed off, but I don’t hate you.”

He stays silent for a few seconds, then stands up to go and crouch down in front of you.

“Babe, I’m sorry.” He takes your hand in his, looking into your (e/c) eyes. “I wasn’t thinking.”

You smile brightly. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

He sits down beside you, an arm around your shoulders, and he kisses your temple while you giggle.

“Ugh. I prefer when you guys are fighting.”

Duncan sticks out his tongue at Heather, the black-haired girl instantly standing up to go sit somewhere else.

“But seriously-” Gwen takes the boy’s attention. “Why did you went to juvie?”

He shifts around a little, clearly not comfortable with that.

“Hey, it’s fine.” You smile at him, lightly stroking his cheek with your fingers. “I’ll still love you no matter what.”

He sighs, then rubs his left eye with his free hand.

“I don’t have a nice relationship with my dad.” He chuckles, memories coming back to him. “He’s a policeman, like everyone in my family... and I _really_ like to piss him off.”

You quirk an eyebrow. “So you went to juvie because your dad was mad at you?”

He nods. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“What did you do exactly?”

He smirks at Gwen.

“Oh, you know, the usual…” His smug seems to stretch out. “Running around naked at New Year’s Eve, selling my father’s hairpieces online as pets, making a pool party at the City Hall fountain...”

“Woah.” You smirk back at him, trying to imagine some of his stunts. “Sound like you had a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, well… I did. But I wasn't sent to juvie because of that.” He sighs, looking away in embarrassment. “I put all my dad’s stuff in a huge pile in our yard, and I send it on fire. But I didn’t quite control it and it almost burned down the house with it…”

“Woah!” Gwen’s eyes open hide. “So that’s why you went to juvie hall for!”

“Yeah… but...” He turns his head to Heather. “At least it’s not as bad as what Heather did.”

“I admit, it was a little unorthodox...” She looks away for a moment, but she sets her eyes back on the goth girl. “But it doesn’t come close to what Gwen did. _If_ that’s even your real name!”

Gwen averts her eyes, ashamed of her actions. You can understand why. What she did was absolutely horrible.

“Woah...” Owen’s the one to talk, the blond now looking at you. “What about you, (Y/N)? Do you have any sins to confess?”

Duncan laughs.

“You’re serious? We’re talking about (Y/N) here.” He hugs you closer and kisses your temple. “She’s an angel.”

The flashbacks come back to your mind, and your heart starts pounding as you play with your fingers.

“Well, looking at her pale face, it looks like she might have done something.”

Duncan sends Heather a hard look. “You shut up.”

“I...” You take a big breath, looking at your hands. “I think I killed someone.”

The atmosphere shifts to a colder one, and you look up to see everyone giving you terrified looks.

“You...” Gwen shakes her head. “Wait, you _think_ you killed someone? Explained.”

“In the last few weeks, I’ve had… these… flashbacks of memories I don’t remember. They happened when I was four or something.” You frown, trying to remember correctly. “I always see this woman in them, and she’s always hurting me in some way.”

“Babe, that sounds serious.”

“I don’t know that woman.” You look back at Duncan, confused. “I’ve never seen or heard about her before… but I think I’m adopted or something...”

You shake your head, trying to get your head clear.

“Last night, when I was in the water...” You shiver at the thought, your boyfriend hugging you close to help you. “I saw this woman push me off a bridge a-and I took her down with me… a-a-and she was trying to drown me, I think, and I-I tried to survive and s-she drowned instead...”

You take a shaky breath in.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just hallucinating things, but...”

“Yeah, that’s probably it.” Heather moves her hand. “We’ve been tortured by Chris and Chef for weeks, it was only a matter of time before your brain snapped.”

“You… think…?”

“Don’t think too hard about this.” You feel lips on your forehead. “But tell me next time you have those visions, okay?”

You breathe in slowly, then let it out.

“Okay.”

“Ah…!” Owen falls on one of the bed, a happy smile on his face. “Don’t you feel better now?”

You all look at him in silence, not knowing what to say to him when he suddenly screams about a spider and runs out.

“Hey, look! We got neighbors!”

Duncan and Gwen instantly run out when they see the smoke come out of the woods, you and Heather simply walking out in peace.

“The rescue team?”

“Or a trick.” Heather puts her hands on her waist. “Courtesy of Chris.”

Owen smiles at you all. “I know how we can find out.”

* * *

You all stare meaninglessly at Owen, your faces painted with some red and black substances while you’re all holding some homemade weapons.

“I don’t know about this...”

Owen shakes his head at Gwen. “We pretend we’re the headhunters and scare the bejeebers out of whoever is messing with our heads!”

“… _I’m pretty sure Chris and Chef are just grilling some marshmallows..._ ”

“And there’s one little problem!” Duncan points at the ground. “A fifty-foot python with an attitude!”

“Oh, that.”

Owen makes a motion to dismiss the danger, then throws Mr. Coconut on the snake’s head, which puts him unconscious.

Needless to say, you’re now all staring back at Owen with a pissed-off expression.

“Why didn’t you do that hours ago?”

“What? And miss out on all our bounding? Come on! Let’s go hugabugi!”

* * *

You stop running, Owen looking back at you all with a serious face.

“This is it, brethren… We might not come back alive. So let’s get our hugabugi to move on!”

“Yeah, Owen...” Gwen rolls her eyes. “I’m not so sure about this.”

He ignores her and runs again while screaming strange words, you and the three other teenagers soon following him. When you finally arrive at the destination, you all scream and jump on the assailant, only to see Chef jumps on Chris in fear upon seeing you all armed.

“Hey, guys!” Chris’ smile stretches out, and he drops Chef. “It’s about time you showed up! I was starting to think that (Y/N) was dead or something.”

“Almost...”

Owen gasps. “Mr. Coconut! It’s a mirage! They’re just figments of my imagination!”

Chef gets his head closer to Chris. “Why is he talking to a coconut?”

“Owen, it’s not a mirage! It’s our production crew’s secret location… or _was_ a secret location until now!”

You all look around, and while everyone gasps at the sight, you nod.

“Oh yeah!” You smile, putting your bow down. “I’ve been here for the last challenge. It still looks nice!”

“But… what about the T-Rex skull!”

“And the prehistoric goose!”

Chris chuckles. “Those are just leftovers from a dinosaur movie we-”

“You mean _while_ we were _shipwrecked_ , you were here basking in the lap of luxury a mere hundred feet away!?”

You look up at the sky when you feel the rain, not even bothered by the situation.

“Yes, Heather. That would be accurate.” You look back to see Chef and Chris going inside a while trailer. “Sorry… I’d invite you in, but there’s only room for seven… see you at the campfire tonight!”

* * *

You try to stay as close as possible to the fire, still shivering from the cold rain.

“Well, it’s been a grueling day, campers!” You give Chris a hard look, the guy having refused to give you a towel when you asked earlier. “Frankly, Chef and I are worn out! I hope you’ve learned two viable lessons. First, always make sure your cabins are securely fastened to the ground! And second, the every camper for themselves idea stinks! Five heads are always better than one!”

Duncan rolls his eyes at the host, and you simply chuckle at his reaction while Owen scoffs.

“I think you meant…” He slightly shakes Mr. Coconut in Chris’ face. “… six.”

“Which brings us to yet another dramatic marshmallow ceremony!”

“Wait a minute...” Duncan squint his eyes at the host. “You have five marshmallows, that’s one for each of us!”

“Shh.” You put your hand on his mouth. “Just accept it.”

“Excellent observation, dude!” Chris then proceeds to throw the marshmallows at everyone. “Heather, (Y/N), Duncan, Gwen and Owen!”

“Oh no!” The blond seems to be the only to understand what’s happening. “You don’t mean-”

“Yep! It’s time for Mr. Coconut to walk the dock of shame!”

“ _ **WHY!?**_ ” Owen tries to keep his coconut, but Chris manages to take it away from him.

“Get it together, dude. You’re starting to freak me out.”

The host throws the coconut away, Owen screaming in sadness as it goes to the dock of shame.

“By the way-” Heather crosses her arms over her chest, looking at all of you. “-what we confessed back there _stays_ back there.”

You nod, feeling your boyfriend’s arm getting around your shoulder.

“Oh yeah.”

“No argument.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Coconut!” You all look back at Owen, who stares at the emptiness. “I shall never let go!”

“Okay...” You look back at Duncan, giving him a sweet smile. “Guess it’s time to sleep?”

He smiles back and nods, the punk walking you back to the newly placed cabins.


	25. TDI: Are We There Yeti

**24: Are We There Yeti**

The last thing you were expecting was to wake up in the middle of the forest, staring into a squirrel’s eyes as he squeezes your cheeks with his little paws.

“Who’s that!?” Heather’s voice makes the squirrel run away instantly, freeing you in the process. “Where are we!?”

You sit up, scratching the top of your head while your boyfriend looks around in confusion.

“How did we get here?”

Gwen breathes in sharply. “Chris!?”

“ _Mommy!_ ”

While Owen hides under his sheets, you simply look up at the sky, hearing the helicopter coming your way.

“ _Everybody just zips it!_ ” You frown when you see Chef hanging on the ladder, Chris being nowhere in sight. “ _How you got here is not your concern!_ ”

You all get out of the beds as he lands on the ground, the ex-soldier sending the pilot a thumbs up to tell him he can go. Gwen sends him a very confused look, not understanding what he’s doing here.

“What happened to Chris?”

Chef instantly points at her with a mean look.

“Not of your gosh darn business what happened to Chris! I’m in charge now, and I’m gonna make you wish you were never born.”

You yawn when you feel Duncan kiss your cheek and put his arm around your shoulders, the boy whispering you good morning as you chuckle. You stop once you see Chef slowly walking over to you and the others, a threatening glare in his eyes.

“Your mission is to find your way out of the forest or _die_ trying!”

“You can’t be serious!” Heather puts her hands on her chest, completely scared. “We _will_ die!”

* * *

“They left us in the woods. Alone. Again! With _Heather!_ ” Gwen glares at the camera. “I’d rather go swimming in the shark-infested water.”

* * *

“I feel like Chef and Chris are having difficulties to find new challenges.” You yawn again, then rub your eyes. “Seriously, isn’t this like… the third survival challenge?”

* * *

“Here’s out it works. Team one!” Chef throws a green bad at Owen. “Delinquent and chubby.”

_Wait, does that mean-_

“Team two!” You manage to grab the bag without falling on the ground, Gwen having supported you in the process. “Charlie’s Angels.”

“Wait a minute.” Duncan squints his eyes at Chef. “Why (Y/N) isn’t in my team?”

“Because I said so! Now zip it!” Chef points at the bags in your arms. “Everything you need is in these bags. You’ll never get your way north to base camp. The first team to tag the camp totem pole wins… and here’s a tip.”

You don’t like how he’s smirking.

“Better set up camp before sundown, because once that ball hits, you won’t even see your trembling hand in front of your terrified face! Unless...” He takes night vision goggles out of his pocket, his smirk stretching out. “… you’ve got night vision goggles… which you don’t!”

He then starts to laugh maniacally, which makes you quirk an eyebrow. You guys have already spend a whole night in the forest back at the beginning of the show and you didn’t even have night vision goggles then, so you’re pretty sure you’ll be fine.

“Oh, please! _Please!_ ” Your eyes widen when you see Duncan grab Chef’s shirt in fear. “Don’t leave us here, I’m begging you! We won’t survive!”

_The fuck-_

“Grab a hold of your gut, soldier!”

Chef pushes the delinquent away, the boy then shaking his head to take back control. You simply stare at your boyfriend in suspicion, holding your team’s green bag close to you.

* * *

“Duncan is a lot of things, but he’s definitely not a chicken.” Heather squints her eyes at the camera. “He’s up to something, I can tell. And I am going to find out what it is.”

* * *

You sigh and groan, rubbing your forehead.

“He stole the night vision goggles, didn’t he?”

* * *

“This is totally bonkers!” Owen puts his hands in the air, the green bag falling unto the ground. “We’ll be scarved down by a grizzly!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Chef’s voice suddenly raises. “You’ll _wish_ you saw a grizzly once you meet up with old Sasquatchanakwa! He’s one _mean_ mamajama!”

You hear Gwen gasps when she sees the helicopter come back, Chef immediately starting to climb up the ladder once it’s close to him.

“ _Good luck, troupes!_ ” The ex-soldier slowly disappears into the sky. “ _Try not to die!_ ”

You jump in fear when huge metal claws take the beds beside you and fly away with, Gwen taking the green bag from your arms to start going through it while Heather screams.

“This isn’t legal! You can’t do this!”

“Hey, Peaches! File it with the network lawyers!” Duncan gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck, babe.”

He then runs away with his team’s green bag on his back, Owen trying his best to follow him.

“Where do they think they’re going?” You take the bag back from Gwen, ignoring Heather’s annoying voice. “They can’t survive out there, it’s suicide! It’s-”

“Hey, I got an idea!” The goth girl gives out a fake smile. “Let’s see what would happen if you close it already!”

“Oh great!” You take out an energy bar from the bag, showing it to the girls with a large grin. “We’re the ones who have the food! Owen’s gonna suffer a _lot._ ”

You notice the two girls blinking at you in silence.

“… what?”

* * *

“Okay.” Heather moves her hand around the confessional. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than ditching Gwen’s grim little butt in the middle of nowhere, but this is the wild! (Y/N) is basically a genius when it comes to surviving in the wild, and I need Gwen to shove in front of me if the bear comes by!”

* * *

“I don’t know why everyone’s so scared.” You shake your head, already bored. “It’s not our first time in the wild, people! Lighten up a little!”

* * *

“I gotta say-” Duncan’s smirk stretches out. “-even if I wasn’t in (Y/N)’s team, I was pretty jazzed to be paired with Owen. I mean, come on! If _you_ were a grizzly, who would you rather be dipping in barbecue sauce?”

* * *

Heather crosses her arms as she looks at you and Gwen.

“So… one of you idiots has an idea on how we’re getting back to camp?”

Gwen smirks and gets out a compass, the goth girl looking down at it to read it. You let the green bag down on the floor and put your hands in your hoodie’s front pocket in boredom, opening your mouth to talk.

“Chef said the camp was north.”

“So we just follow the river, then.” Gwen looks up with a smile. “Easy.”

“Yeah.” Heather squints her eyes at the blue-haired girl. “As long as we’re not munched by a Sasquatch, I’ ma call it.”

“Would you relax?” Gwen crouches down to grab the bag. “That’s obviously just another stupid made-up myth to scare us.”

The goth girl walks away towards the north direction, but you notice the black-haired girl slightly shaking in fear.

“Hey.” You put your hand on her shoulder, smiling sweetly. “We’ll be fine, okay? As long as we stick together, we can fight any big scary Sasquatch.”

She seems to calm down at your words, but she then shoves your hand away with what seems to be faked anger.

“Of course we’ll be fine! I didn’t survive all those challenges to get scared by a stupid Sasquatch!” She follows after Gwen, the girl trying her best to stay confident. “Now, what are you waiting for? Come on!”

You just chuckle at her reaction and follow her from behind, your laugh making her cheeks turn red instantly.

* * *

“I don’t believe in Sasquatches!” Heather loses her smile, squinting her eyes at the camera. “I don’t! And they wouldn’t like… drop us here in the middle of the forest if there really was one! What if we died?”

She seems to realize something, and she sends the camera a terrified look.

“… would they?”

* * *

“Ugh!” You slightly turn your head behind to see Heather trying to fight off a cloud of bugs around her head. “I’d kill for some bug spray! Those mosquitoes keep thinking I’m an all-you-can-eat buffet!”

“It means you smell great.” You grin at her, a mysterious glint in your eyes. “And I agree with them. You should take that as a compliment.”

You don’t see the black-haired girl blush at your words, having turned your head back at where your feet are taking you.

“Hey, Gwen? There are a couple more energy bars if you need one.”

“I’m not hungry for now, but thanks.” The goth girl turns her head at you to give you a small before she continues following the compass. “Maybe later for lunch.”

“Ar!” You and Gwen stop to look back at Heather, who’s holding her neck. “I think a mosquito bit the inside of my throat! It itches!”

“Oh god.” You instantly go to her while she coughs, moving your hands in the air to try and scare the mosquitoes away. “They’re really onto you, aren’t they?”

Heather sends Gwen a smirk from her place while you take care of the mosquitoes, Gwen rolling her eyes at the situation.

* * *

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I actually miss Chris.” Gwen puts her arms in the air. “Anything is better Chef the psychopath! Why the camp cooks always look like escaped criminals? Ugh, and have you seen how Heather’s acting around (Y/N)? I’m sure she’s trying to turn her against me.”

* * *

“Can you hear me, Chris?” Heather points at the camera angrily. “I hope you _enjoyed_ your little day off while we put up with your psychotic sidekick who, by the way, wasn’t even _doing_ anything! He just ditched us in the woods! And _I’m_ stuck with _Gwen?_ I’m just starting to get along with (Y/N), no way I’m gonna let her tear down the beginning of our friendship!”

* * *

The cameras show Chef getting tanned on the dock of shame, reading French learning book.

“Pardon, monsieur? [Excuse me, mister?] Où est la bibliothèque? [Where’s the library?]”

The ex-soldier chuckles as he turns his page, enjoying his day off.

* * *

“ _Typical chicks with zero sense of directions!_ ” You and the girls look around when you hear a distant screaming voice, eventually spotting Duncan and Owen at the top of a mountain in the south direction. “ _Hey, here’s a pointer! Try checking a map!_ ”

“Uh, we would if we had one!” You smirk and crosses your arms on your chest, Gwen chuckling as she shows the compass. “But this compass tells us that’s the north! You know? Like where Chef says the camp is?”

You can’t help but laugh when you watch Duncan’s smirk turn into a shocked expression, the boy taking the map from Owen’s hands to re-read it.

“Enjoy the view up there!” Heather smiles evilly, following Gwen in her path. “Loser!”

You wave back at your boyfriend. “Good luck, babe! I believe in you!”

You then continue walking with your two friends, still laughing at the whole thing.

* * *

You sit down on a rock beside Heather, Gwen taking out three energy bars and handing two of them to you and the black-haired girl before sitting the other beside you. You immediately start munching unto the chocolate bar, almost dying of hanger while Heather opens her mouth.

“Look.” She gives Gwen a long look. “We both know we don’t like each other, and we _both_ probably wish we could push each other off a cliff right now.”

The goth girl smiles. “The thought had crossed my mind.”

“Of course it did.” You take another bite of your food. “You guys are always fighting.”

“Whatever.” Heather dismiss your comment with a movement of her hand. “I think we can also agree that we have to _win_ this challenge. We can’t afford to let the guys win invincibility! And who _knows_ what kind of evil bonding they’re up to right now.”

“They’re boys.” You roll your eyes, remembering the few days you spend living in the boys’ cabin a couple of weeks ago. “They’re probably having a farting contest or something.”

“Ew, why would you say that?” You just shrug at Heather’s disgusted face, the black-haired girl turning her head back at Gwen. “Anyway… so we’re a team on this, right?”

Gwen quirks an eyebrow. “… right...”

You blankly stare at them when they suddenly gasp.

“ _They’re getting away!_ ”

You turn around just in time to see Duncan and Owen waving at you from a raft in the river, the boys already a couple of feet closer to camp than you now. You wave back at them with a huge grin, your boyfriend then sending you a flying kiss that makes you giggle… but that’s before you feel someone grab your arm and pull you away with them, your head turning back in front of you to see Gwen running with the green bag on her back while Heather’s now holding your hand as she runs.

Wait, Heather’s holding your hand? Like… _really_ holding your hand?

When you don’t see the boys anymore, you all stop to take back control on your breathing, Heather freeing your hand to shove away more mosquitoes.

“Oh, for god sake!” She hisses when she feels one of them bite her, the girl closing her eyes as she keeps fighting with the air. “I hate mosquitoes!”

“That’s not important for now!” Gwen sends her a mean look, letting the green bag on the floor. “We need to find a way to stall them, or we’ll end up losing!”

“Oh yeah?” Heather opens her eyes to send back a glare. “And how do you suggest we do this, grumpy?”

You look down at the energy bar paper still hanging in your hand, and you smirk.

“I might have an idea.”

* * *

You and the girls are hiding in the bushes, Gwen holding on the rope for the little trap you’ve made with a yummy chocolate energy bar standing on the ground. You watch silently as Owen gasps and take the bar, the boy about to eat when you help Gwen pull on the rope to trap him in the air. You both do your best to attached it to one of the biggest roots of the three while Duncan climbs it to free Owen, Heather running to the boys’ green bag and found an anti-bug spray. As soon as she’s done, the three of you run away in silence, doing your best to not laugh.

* * *

Heather sighs in relief when you finish spraying her, the cloud of mosquitoes finally leaving her alone.

“There, happy?” The black-haired girl smiles at you to show her contentment, Gwen rolling her eyes at the exchange.

“Can we go now?”

You nod at the goth girl, Heather following her in silence with an annoyed expression. You were putting the anti-bug spray back in the green bag when you and the girls hear loud growling behind you. You don’t even have time to react that the two other girls are already screaming and running into a giant log, your boyfriend and Owen soon coming out of the bushes to block the entrance with a huge rock.

When the two boys turn back at you with sweet smiles, you only quirk an eyebrow.

“Hi, babe.” Duncan walks over to you to kiss your cheek. “How are you this fine day?”

You frown and squint your eyes at him. “Just tell me what you want, will you?”

Owen starts to play with hands in nervousness.

“Do you have more energy bars…?”

You stare at them in silence for a while, then you sigh and search inside your green bag.

“Here.” You hand them two chocolate bars, the boys taking them without saying anything. “That’s the last favor I’m doing for you two.”

“Thanks, babe.”

Duncan surprises you by giving you a quick kiss on the lips, the delinquent then running away with Owen right behind him. You watch them leave in silence, then shake your head with a small smile on your lips. When you turn around, you see Gwen and Heather walking out of the other entrance of the log with confusion.

“What…” Gwen’s confused expression seems to get even more confuse. “What happened?”

“You got scared by the boys, that’s what happened.”

“ _What!?_ ” You walk over to them with a grin, taking out some toilet paper.

“I have an idea to scare them back.” Your eyes turn to Heather. “And you get to be the mummy.”

* * *

You and the girls were still laughing at Owen’s face when he saw Heather disguised as a mummy, the three of you now in possession of some sweet night equipment.

The laughter stops when you all fall inside a hole made by the boys, Duncan grabbing your bag before it can fall with you.

“Sorry, babe!” You don’t have time to look up at him that he already throws you back your bag and you catch it in surprise.

“The- _Duncan!_ ” You glare at the sky. “ _Come back here!_ ”

Heather groans and puts her hands in the air. “How the hell are we gonna get out of here?”

Gwen just sighs and rubs her forehead, the sun now slowly setting down.

* * *

You don’t know how you guys manage to get out of the hole, but you did it nonetheless. And now, the three of you are walking around the forest in complete darkness, your friends glaring at anything in anger while you keep yawning.

“I can’t believe they stole all of our supply.” Gwen turns around and points at Heather.

“Never underestimate a known criminal.” She makes a disgusting face. “Ew. I hope we find the camp soon, you really stink.”

“You should talk! I can smell your armpits from here!”

You sigh in annoyance. “We all stink, okay!? Get over it!”

Heather’s about to tell you a mean remark when Gwen stops in her tracks, the goth girl silently pointing at some huge Sasquatch footprints. Your two friends share a long knowing look and a nod, while you simply give them a slightly scared look.

“Oh! Guys, look!” Gwen uses a fake terrified voice. “It’s a Sasquatch footprint! I’m _so_ scared!”

Something starts to move around in the bushes and you take a step back, Heather rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“ _Please!_ You’re embarrassing yourselves!”

“Guys...” You hug yourself, not liking the atmosphere you’re feeling. “I think we should-”

“ _Shh._ ”

Gwen slowly walks over the bushes in silence, then doesn’t hesitate to scream as she jumps on the person hiding. Your heart drops when you see the Sasquatch stand up, Gwen trying to take his head off while Heather screams.

“ _Aaaaaah!_ ”

You and Heather both scream and run away, the goth girl looking down at the Sasquatch before she screams too. Under all the pressure, the Sasquatch also screams, the creature soon running after you and Heather in panic. Soon, you notice Duncan and Owen walking a little further in front of you, the blond guy starting to scream and run away once he sees you.

“ _Ruuuun!_ ”

His scream makes Duncan turn around just in time to see you, Heather, Gwen, and the Sasquatch running over while screaming, the boy mimicking all of you without even thinking.

It’s a few minutes later that you notice you’ve entered a dark cavern, not being able to see anything. You’re about to ask if any of your teammates are around when you hear Owen’s voice in a whisper close to you.

“ _Duncan?_ ”

“ _Owen? Is that you?_ ”

“ _(Y/N)? Thank god, you’re here._ ”

“ _Heather? Where are you?_ ”

“ _Over here._ ”

“ _Heather?_ ”

“ _Gwen?_ ”

“ _Duncan?_ ”

“ _Duncan!_ ” You try to find your boyfriend, your heart pumping your blood too fast. “ _Duncan, I’m scared._ ”

“ _I’m right here._ ” You feel him take hold of your arm and you manage to see his blue eyes in the dark before you hold on to him. “ _We’re all here._ ”

“ _Yeah, and now that we’ve taken roll call, what are we going to do?_ ” You see Heather’s eyes squint at Duncan. “ _Did you see the size of that thing?_ ”

Duncan gives her an annoyed look. “ _I could have taken him_.”

Gwen snorts. “ _Is that why you were screaming like a little girl?_ ”

“ _Right, well…_ ” You feel him hold you closer and you grin despite the fear. “ _Well, I was just faking him out! Anyway, I think we’re safe here for a while._ ”

“ _Um..._ ” Owen’s voice sounds unsure. “ _That depends what you mean by safe._ ”

Heather sighs. “ _I’d never thought I’d say this, but… please tell me that tongue in my ear is Owen._ ”

“ _No, that would be the..._ ” You take a sharp breath when you see all the red eyes staring at you and your friends. “… _bats!_ ”

None of you questions anything as you all scream and run towards one of the cavern’s exit.

* * *

You all stop beside some trees to take control back on your breaths, hearing the bags make a loud noise as they hit the ground. Heather looks up at the sky, panting.

“Do Sasquatches get meaner at night?”

“I don’t know...” Duncan pauses as he breathes. “… but I don’t really want to find out.”

You all stay silent when you hear a growl, having to spend the night in the forest suddenly terrifying you.

* * *

Somewhere else, Chef is playing the harp while singing the Ave Maria.

* * *

“Since you guys still have supplies and a map...” Heather squints her eyes. “I guess you beat us.”

Gwen gaps in anger and points at the black-haired girl.

“Speak for yourself!”

“It’s obvious they kicked our butts!”

Gwen turns her head at you, waiting for your opinion.

“What do you want me to say?”

She groans, then crosses her arms on her chest.

“Fine! Whatever! You beat us!”

“Oh, look-” Duncan grabs the two bags in his hands, giving you and the girls a proud smirk. “If you guys wanna bunk with us, it’s cool. Why don’t you set up camp while we look for firewood?”

He throws the bags at you and Heather, both of you catching them in time while the boys run away in the dark forest. Gwen’s nose scrunches up in disgust.

“Ugh… the damsel in distress thing made me wanna puke.”

You give her a blank stare. “But now we have the supplies...”

She blinks back, then smirks. “That’s true.”

“You guys are so naive.” Heather rolls her eyes. “Do you seriously think they would leave us with the map and the compass?”

“… that’s also true.”

“I hate that we’re so vulnerable with them.”

“Who cares? Let them think they’re big strong boys for _now._ Then, when they least expect it, we’ll steal the map and the compass from them.”

You quirk an eyebrow. “And how exactly do you expect us to do that?”

Her smirk stretches out. “We’ll make your boyfriend think he’s saving you.”

* * *

“It’s _so_ easy to fool guys.” Heather flips her hair with a proud smug. “They’re like little kids! They _never_ see it coming.”

* * *

“I’ve gotta admit...” Gwen gives out an amusing smile. “Just when I thought Heather can’t get more underhanded, she gets more underhanded! Toying with the boys… well played.”

* * *

“I won’t lie, Heather’s great at making evil plans..” You scratch your head, thinking deeply. “But if she wants me to manipulate Duncan, we’ll need to make him come to me… He’s not stupid. He _will_ be suspicious if I try something.”

* * *

You hug yourself while sitting close to the fire, the cold wind setting shivers down your spine.

“Hey!” Owen takes everyone’s attention, showing off a big weird ball that smells like chocolate. “I smouched the energy bars into a big chewy ball! Any takers?”

You make a slight disgusting face, Gwen shaking her head at him.

“No… but I’ll take your sleeping bag.”

As if on cue, Owen eats the whole energy ball in one gulp, the boy handing over his sleeping bag to the goth girl before he falls asleep on the ground. Gwen smiles in relief, instantly stopping shivering as she engulfs herself in the sleeping bag.

You won’t lie, you’re kind of jealous of her right now.

Heather notices your shivering state, and with the plan in the head, she turns her full body to you.

“(Y/N), are you okay? You seem cold...”

You look at her, the black-haired giving you a worried look.

“… yeah, a little.”

“Here.” She wraps her around your form, moving her hands up and down your arms to try and warm you up. “Does this help?”

You smile back sweetly at her. “Yeah, thank you.”

She nods, her smile stretching when she feels Duncan’s death stare on her.

“You know what? How about you sleep with me tonight? It’ll keep you warm-”

“ **Okay, that’s enough.** ” You feel your boyfriend’s hands yank you away from Heather, his arms wrapping themselves around you as he holds you close to his chest. “ **If (Y/N) has to sleep with anyone here, it’s me, you got it!?** ”

“Jeez, calm down.” Heather puts her hands in front of her in protection. “It’s not my fault if you’re not taking care of your girlfriend properly.”

“What did you just say!?”

She rolls her eyes at him. “Oh, _nothing._ ”

“That’s better.” Duncan kisses the top of your head, his attention now fully on you. “You’re okay, babe?”

You give him a sweet but tired smile. “I’m better now.”

You giggle when you see a blush creep upon his cheeks, your words taking him by surprise.

“Well, I’m glad then.”

You stay close to him throughout the night, your arms wrapped around his form as you and the girls wait for the boys to fall asleep. Once they do, Heather gives you the small signal, and you manage to take the map from under Duncan’s shirt without disturbing his sleep.

You do slightly kiss his lips before running away with all his stuff, you and the girls snickering in the darkness.

* * *

“Do we feel bad?” Gwen quirks an eyebrow at the camera. “No way! They steal our stuff first! All is fair in love and war… and this is definitely war now.”

* * *

“Okay, that was _so_ much fun!” Heather giggles, happy to have pulled off such a stunt. “I just wish I could have seen the looks on their faces! And for the record, Gwen and (Y/N) were just as into scamming them as I was!”

* * *

“I’m sorry for betraying you like that babe, but...” You snort, remembering what you did last night. “Man, I’ve never felt so much excitement! I’ll make it up to you, though, I promise.”

* * *

You scream in joy when you see the totem came coming into view, Heather and Gwen following up behind.

“ _We made it!_ ”

You continue to run, your face dropping when you see Owen exceeding you, his eyes concentrating on Chef holding a tray of cinnamon buns.

“ _Yeah!_ ” You try to run faster when you hear your boyfriend’s voice encouraging the blond. “ _Go for it, dude!_ ”

You can’t help but sigh in relief when you see Owen ignore the totem to go and eat Chef’s cinnamon buns instead, and you throw yourself on the totem to hug it with joy.

“We won!” You kiss the totem before freeing it, turning back to give Heather and Gwen some high fives. “I told you guys we would win this thing!”

“No, dude!” Duncan arrives with a defeated and depressed expression, the delinquent giving the chubby guy a desperate look. “We were so close? _Whyyyy….!_ ”

Owen just gives him a long stare. “Well, they’re fresh from the oven!”

Chef smacks the tray out of Owen’s hands, pointing at him in anger.

“Those were mine! I was looking forward to those buns! And I was saving one for (Y/N)!”

Your eyes light up. “You did? Thanks, Chef!”

He ignores your comment, his eyes giving everyone a very annoyed look.

“Alright, the game’s over. Girls win, guys lose.”

* * *

Duncan stares at the camera in disbelief.

“Who lost the challenge for a few sticky buns…? What was that! Do you know how many sticky buns I could have bought with a hundred thousand dollars!?”

He sighs, rubbing his eyes.

“… (Y/N) did put up a good fight, though.” He slightly smirks. “Man, I’m proud of her.”

* * *

Heather laughs. “O. M. G. That was _so_ pathetic. I hope those buns were worth it.”

* * *

“Wow!” Gwen gives the camera a surprised look. “We kind of scored that one!”

* * *

“I think Duncan’s really mad at me...” Owen looks around the confessional in thoughts. “Maybe I should have saved him a sticky bun...”

* * *

“I’m glad we won the challenge and all, but...” You frown, worry getting over you. “Chef said that he’ll choose who leaves the island… I can’t help but worry that it’s going to be Duncan...”

You take a small pause, letting the silence wash over you.

“He won’t choose Duncan though… right?”

* * *

You’re all sitting around the campfire, you specifically holding your boyfriend’s hand tight as you all watch Chef walk in front of you in anger.

“This was supposed to be _my_ day!” He throws his arms in the air. “I had it all planned! I was going to eat my sticky buns, and relax with one of Heather’s facials...”

Owen and Heather both gasps, Chef ignoring them as he continues to talk.

“.. but I finished reading Gwen’s diary-” The goth girl gasps too. “-and cleaned my toenails!”

He looks back at Duncan with a small smirk. “That reminds me… You need to… sharpen this...”

He then throws Duncan’s knife pocket back at him, the delinquent managing to catch it with a shocked look.

“… _then I was gonna loot the rest of Owen’s snacks days._ ”

The blond gasps another time, and you simply roll your eyes at the ex-soldier’s behavior.

“But _you_ all _ruined_ it!” He points at all of you, his anger back. “So… here’s your invinci-darn-bility!”

As soon as you and the girls catch your marshmallows, you stare back at Chef in worry, not liking the wide psychotic smile settling on his cheeks as he stares at the boys in silence. You squeeze your boyfriend’s hand as your chest tighten, the boy only squeezing it back without even worrying at all. But when Chef just keeps smiling and staring in silence, Duncan’s bored expression turns to a very angry one.

“ _You!_ ” Chef directly throws the marshmallow into Owen’s mouth, the ex-soldier coming closer to point at the delinquent. “Suck on this, mister! You’re finished!”

“Dammit, Chef!” You throw your arms in the air, your heart sinking at the news. “I trusted you!”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N)... But I’ve hated your boyfriend since the beginning.” He crosses his arms on his chest, not even bothered by your sadness. “And this is just my advice, but you leave him and find someone else.”

“ _ **Hey!**_ ” Duncan sends a threatening glare. “You can get me out of here and back to juvie, but you have _no right_ to tell (Y/N) to be with someone else!”

“You know what?” You squint your eyes at the ex-soldier, feeling tired as hell. “If Duncan’s leaving, I’m leaving too!”

“No can do, (Y/N).” Chef shakes his head at you. “You signed a contract, remember? You stay in the competition until you get eliminated!”

“That’s not fair!”

“(Y/N).” You turn back at your boyfriend when he grabs your hand in his. “It’s fine. Just try and win this whole thing, okay?”

“But I don’t wanna win.” You feel the tears come into your eyes. “I wanna stay with you! And be with Courtney!”

You think you can hear Heather cough in disgust while Owen and Gwen “Awwn” at your words, but Duncan smirks at you.

“Courtney will be fine without a little longer, babe. Don’t worry about that. And besides-” He face comes closer to yours. “-I want you to win. So try to get that prize for me, okay?”

You stay silent for a while, hesitating. “Okay.”

“Good.”

* * *

You watch Chef walk on the dock of shame, Duncan coming behind him with a bag full of his stuff.

“Left! Left! Left, right, left! Come on, soldier! Do I bear a striking resemblance to somebody who’s got all day?!”

“What can I say-” Heather’s words stop Duncan in his tracks. “-you had the chance to rock an alliance with me, but you blew it!”

Gwen walks over to him before he can retort a bad comment.

“You played the game well. I'm sorry you had to lose over sticky buns.”

They both bump fist, your boyfriend then turning his attention to you.

“Awn...” He cups your left cheek in his free hand, wiping away some tears.”Don’t cry, babe. I thought you were strong?”

“I’m not crying!” You try your best to retain the tears, Duncan chuckling at your reaction while you give him a long look. “Promise you won’t forget me?”

He grins, sharing a long kiss with you. “Does that answer you?”

You giggle, taking his hand away from your cheek to kiss his palm.

“I love you, Duncan.”

His eyes sweeten, the guy kissing your lips again for a slight moment.

“I love you too.”

“Ugh, stop this.” Heather looks away. “You’re making me gag.”

He just shows her his middle finger, making you laugh as you free his hand.

“Give Courtney a kiss for me, will ya?”

“Will do.” You watch him step on the boat of losers with a heavy chest, the dreading feeling of loneliness washing over you as he disappears on the horizon.

“So...” Heather smirks, looking around everyone. “Looks like we made it to the final four!”

* * *

“I just wanna thank everyone who got me to the final four!” Heather takes a small pause before crossing her arms on her chest. “Courtney, I feel your pain, girl. You should _not_ have been cheated off like that… and being separated from your lovers? Ugh, that must have been horrible!”

She takes another moment to think. “… Noah, you were one seriously smart guy, don’t think I didn’t notice!”

Her face seems to drop for a second. “And… Lindsay… The most fashionable girl on the island next to me! You know you’ll always be one of my BFF’s!”

* * *

“I’ve gotta admit-” Gwen looks around with shock. “-I didn’t think I’d make it this far.”

She gets out a big yawn, a smile setting on her face.

“But now that I have, I might as well win.”

* * *

Owen gives the camera a sly expression.

“ _Sooooo…_ It’s _Owen_ and _three_ cool girls.” He points at himself while he chuckles in joy. “ _Partyyyy!_ ”

* * *

“You guys all know I didn’t get into this competition to win, but...” You take a breath in, then slowly release it. “I will now. For Duncan and Courtney… You can count on me, guys!”

You just hope what Chris and Chef have in store for you won’t push you over the edge.


	26. TDI: I Triple Dog Dare You!

**25: I Triple Dog Dare You!**

You wake up groggily, looking around the girls’ cabin in confusion as Gwen’s pillow falls off your head. The goth girl laughs at your face, continuing to apply her makeup with a smirk.

“Wake up, sleepy head. It’s almost ten already.”

“… really?” You yawn and stretch your arms up, closing your eyes you do so. “That’s bad… I was having such a nice dream.”

“What are you wearing?” You open your eyes to see Heather squint her eyes at the deathly T-shirt you’ve stolen from Duncan. “Is that from your stupid boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” You smile, rubbing your eyes. “I miss him.”

“Oh please, that guy’s a total loser.” Heather continues to take care of her nails, rolling her eyes. “You can do better than that, you know?”

Gwen snorts. “And by “better” you mean… _you?_ ”

Heather sends the goth girl a death stare while you chuckle under your breath.

“It’s a nice offer Heather, but I’ll have to decline it.” You smirk at her. “I’m already taken by two people, you know.”

“I wasn’t talking about me! I was just telling my opinion, sheesh.” She groans and averts her eyes, her cheeks getting redder while she mumbles. “It’s not like I like you or anything.”

You and Gwen share a look, the two of you enjoying to tease the black-haired girl so much.

“ _Campers!_ ” The three of you jump up when you hear Chris’ voice. “ _Welcome to the semi-finals! Today, we reward our challengers with an all you can eat pancake breakfast! That’s right! Genuine food by-products served with fresh ingredients relatively close to their expiration date!_ ”

“ **Great.** ” Heather finishes applying her nail polish, still mumbling under her breath. “I’m sure that’s not going to be disgusting like usual.”

“Chris is back?” You can’t help yourself but smile at the news, suddenly getting up to put some clothes on. “Oh my god, guys! Chris is back!”

“Contain your excitement.”Gwen quirks an eyebrow at you, just finishing to put on her makeup. “We all know Chris and Chef will cut you some slack here.”

You give her a weird look. “I’m not getting special treatment. What makes you say that?”

“ _Sure._ ” Gwen smiles, shaking her head at you. “We’ll see about that.”

“Yeah, well… you better watch out.” You run towards the door after changing, a huge grin on your lips. “Cause I’m getting all the good pancakes from Chef!”

Gwen gasps, running after you. “You wouldn’t!”

“ _Hey!_ ” Heather stands up, moving her hand around to dry the nail polish as she runs after you two. “ _Don’t leave me here!_ ”

* * *

“So I actually made it to the final four.” Gwen looks up from her notebook, smirking at the camera. “Just goes to show you how far a bad attitude can get you.”

* * *

Heather stops putting powder on her nose for a moment.

“Whatever. I _knew_ I’d make it to the end. _Big_ shocker!” She loses her proud smile. “I just can’t believe weird goth girl made it.”

* * *

You yawn, then look at the camera in silence.

“I have no idea how I got in the final four.”

* * *

“I wanted to believe it! I _dreamt_ it could be true! And now the day is finally here!” Owen looks up at the sky with the biggest smile anyone could ever see. “ _All you can eat pancakes! Y-yeah!_ ”

* * *

“We’re getting pancakes! We’re getting pancakes!”

You smile at Owen’s joy as you get in front of Chef.

“Hi, Chef! How are you today?” The ex-soldier smiles at you and nods to answer your question, handing you some normal looking pancakes right after. “ _Oooh_ , that looks so good! Thanks, Chef!”

“No problem, kiddo.”

Gwen approaches her head to yours while you both walk towards a table, the goth whispering.

“ _Still not getting any special treatment?_ ”

You roll your eyes, nudging your elbow into her arm.

“Shut up.”

That’s when you hear a loud thud behind you, turning around in surprise only to see Owen being buried under tons and tons of pancakes. Chef crosses his arms over his chest with an angry stare, but it turns to a shocked one when the blond laughs happily.

“ _Yeah!_ _ **Now**_ _you’re talking baby!_ ”

* * *

“Yeah, the money would be awesome.” Gwen continues to draw on her notebook as she talks. “But you know what would be sweeter? Making sure Heather **loses.** ”

* * *

“Luckily, I’m against the freak show and fatty ginormous.” Heather snorts, looking around the confessional. “Sure, (Y/N) is also here. But she doesn’t want to win, so they might as well give me the check. I mean, come on! I think we _all_ know who’s gonna win.”

* * *

“I really don’t care if I win or not.” You sigh and rub your eyes. “But again, I did promise Duncan that I’ll win for him… so I guess I’ll make an effort.”

* * *

“ _Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!_ ”

* * *

“ _If_ I win...” Gwen squints her eyes at the camera. “...I’m gonna _buy_ camp Wawanakwa. So I can burn it down and turn it into a graveyard!”

* * *

“What will I do if I win? Oh god...” You frown, thinking deeply. “I seriously have no idea… I think… maybe… share it?”

* * *

“ _Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!_ ”

Owen laughs like a crazy person.

* * *

“ _When_ I win-” Heather smirks back at the camera. “-I’m thinking of doing my own spin-off series: The world according to Heather.”

* * *

“I’d never win...” Owen looks down with a sad expression, but it soon turns back to a joyful one. “But if I did, I’d start every day… with pancakes! Cause they're like little mini rays of sunshine filled with yummy fun!”

* * *

“Personally-” Gwen crosses her arms. “-I’ve had enough drama here to last a lifetime. I mean, don’t get me wrong, (Y/N) is awesome. And… Owen’s okay. But eight weeks of Heather was about as much fun as a mouth full of impacted molars.”

* * *

“Eight weeks here wasn’t as bad as I thought.” You giggle, shaking your head. “I mean, _sure_ , it was pure hell and exhausting, but it was pretty fun in general! I’ve met some great people here and I’m really glad to have met everyone in this show!”

* * *

“Sure, eight weeks with these losers have caused for insanity...” Heather looks away from her small mirror. “But at least the mother-ship knows where Gwen is now so they can retrieve her! And Greenpeace can beg and take Owen as the hazardous waste that he is!”

She takes a small pause, averting her eyes with a blush.

“(Y/N) is… fine. But don’t tell her that I said that!

* * *

“But _all_ you can eat pancakes in the _world_ wouldn’t be special without friends to share them....” Owen sighs, looking down. “Maybe (Y/N) would want to share them with me.”

* * *

“Owen wants to know if I’ll share pancakes with him every morning?” You quirk an eyebrow, an amused smile on your face. “Sure! Why not? He’s pretty fun to be around. And who can say no to pancakes?”

* * *

“Sure, Owen’s dumb luck has won him a few challenges-” Heather looks back at the camera with a serious expression. “-but its ability to _not_ be disgusted by anything edible that worries me!”

* * *

“You’ve ever noticed how much a toilet seat looks like a pancake?”

Owen then proceeds to lick the toilet seat with crazy eyes.

* * *

“And _laaaazy_!” Heather makes an annoyed face. “Sloths could take a cue from Slowen!”

* * *

Owen laughs, the toilet seat in his hands missing a wooden part.

“I should probably spit this out.”

He then falls asleep right there.

* * *

“Thankfully Gwen has no strengths! She’s just a low-rent counter pound with dragon breath and ugly hair!”

* * *

“Gwen’s pretty strong, you know.” You smile, then shrug. “I’m pretty sure she could kick anyone’s ass.”

* * *

“Heather’s strength is obviously her bottomless pit of mean!” Gwen starts to bite on her pain, squinting her eyes at the confessional’s door. “I’m banking on her massive ego to be her downfall.”

* * *

“Sure, Heather’s mean, but she’s also _extremely_ confident.” You shake your head. “It’s hard to fight someone who’s overly confident.”

* * *

“(Y/N) could probably win if she really wanted too.” Heather shrugs, not really bothered. “I mean, she’s kind, generous, confident, smart, pretty-Ugh! Now I’m complimenting her! What is wrong with me?”

* * *

“Oh yeah. (Y/N) could win. For sure.” Gwen smiles, continuing her drawing of you. “I knew that from the first day we met. Kind of sad that she doesn’t actually want the prize.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Owen’s still sleeping in the confessional.

* * *

“Campers!” Your smile stretches out when you see Chris’ usual psychotic smile, having missed the host at lot in the last few days. “Welcome to the semi-finals!”

“Welcome back, Chris! How were the awards?”

His own smile grows on his cheeks at your question. “It was amazing! Thank you for asking!”

Heathers groans in annoyance, making Chris chuckle.

“But the producers have run out of insane ways to torturing you, so...” You and your friends look at each other, the four of you sitting behind a long table. “They asked the ousted campers for ideas! Turns out they had a lot! They provided us with the sickest, most twisted and insane dares imaginable in TDI’s version of-”

You quirk an eyebrow, looking at the large wheel with a green bottle in the middle that the host is showing proudly.

“- _Spin_ the _bottle!_ ” A jazzy song suddenly starts to play, making you giggle. “Staring with Izzy, Trent, Cody, _Justin,_ Noah, Leshawna, Lindsay, Beth, Tyler, Harold, DJ, Geoff, Bridgette, Duncan, Courtney, Eva, Katie and Sadie, and the home-schooled misogynistic country boy: Ezequïel!”

You start to applaud, Chris bowing right after while your friends give you a weird look.

“ _No wonder you’re getting special treatments..._ ”

You send Gwen an annoyed look, the goth girl only smirking back at you.

“Put em all together, and we’ve got a high stake game of I-” Chris spins the green bottle. “-Triple Dog Dare You!”

“What is this? Grade five?” Heather rolls her eyes at the situation. “Why don’t we just do seven minutes in heaven in a tacky basement closet?”

Owen laughs. “Yeah-ha-ha! Good call! Let’s do it-AH!”

Heather had slapped the blond, making Gwen send her a knowing smile.

“We _all_ know why you want to play Seven Minutes in Heaven...”

She blushes when the goth subtly points at you, the black-haired almost choking on her own saliva.

“I _do not_ want to play that!”

You blink in confusion, not understanding what’s happening. That’s when Chris clears his throat, getting the attention back from all of you.

“Each player will take turns spinning the bottle! Although, there is a twist for our special (Y/N) here!” Your eyes open wide, waiting for something horrible to be said. “Since our contestant here has shown a lot of times that she can get through anything, we thought it would be fun if instead of doing the outcasted campers’ dare.. that she answers their questions!”

“ _What!?_ ” Heather points at Chris angrily. “That’s not fair!”

“Oh, of course, it is! Especially since she’ll be answering a question at every turn! And the camper that you land on determines the dare _you_ guys will perform, and the question (Y/N) will have to answer!”

You sigh in relief, letting your body relax. Answering questions from your fellow friends, that’s not too bad… right?

“You can take the dare yourself-” Chris takes a purple bottle from a tray Chef’s holding, the pink dress the ex-soldier’s wearing almost making you laugh all over again. “-and win a get-out-of-dare freebie, _or_ inflict the dare on a fellow camper in hopes of voting them out! Of course, since (Y/N) will be answering questions, she can’t give her questions to you guys, nor get any of your dares. Therefore, she cannot win any freebie to get out of her questions.”

“And if we (Y/N) refuses to answer or if we don’t do the dare?” Heather smirk, thinking she found a hole in the host’s plan.

“Oh. Not a good option.” Chris puts the freebie back on the tray. “Anyone who chickens out of their dare will be sent _directly_ to the dock of shame, go on the boat of losers, do not go to the bonfire, do not collect marshmallow and do not get to win one hundred thousand dollars!”

A boat of the said money suddenly falls on the stage, Chris showing it with proud.

“The same goes to (Y/N) if she refuses to answer one of her questions.”

* * *

“Wow! A sudden death elimination…?” Gwen smiles, nodding approvingly. “Good one!”

* * *

You snort, shaking your head. “I can’t believe Chris took my suggestion! That’s awesome!”

* * *

“Okay!” Chris stands in front of the spinning bottle wheel, looking back at you and your friends. “Who’s ready to humiliate themselves first? Of course, (Y/N) will have to answer a question no matter what!”

There’s a long silence where no one says anything.

“Oh, what the heck! Let’s get this over with.”

Gwen walks over to the wheel, then spin the bottle with all of her strength.

* * *

“Okay, so here’s the deal!” Chris smile’s at the confessional camera. “Chef and I have a little side bet going… whoever pukes first has to pony off a hundred bucks.”

* * *

“Okay! Let’s get this party started!” The spinning bottle finally stops on someone, but you’re too far to see who it is. “Duncan’s dare and question!”

Chris gives you all a smirk.

“Lick Owen’s armpit!”

You can’t help yourself but gag at the thought, happy to not be able to do the dares for the challenge.

“Gwen, you can perform the challenge yourself, or-” Gwen smirks, looking back at the others. “-dare one of your competitors to do it. Except for (Y/N).”

Chris laughs evilly, then throws the paper with Duncan’s dare written on it away.

“Either way! Someone’s licking some armpit in the next minute!”

“I Triple Dog Dare Heather!”

You gasp, hiding your mouth behind your hands as you see Owen slowly put his arm up, Heather approaching her face to it with a traumatized expression.

“You can imagine that you’re licking an ice cream cone!”

“Shut up Owen!”

“Minus the BO.”

“I’m warning you!”

Heather then closes her eyes and lick Owen’s armpit.

“… Oh, and the pit hair.”

Heather gasps in disgust before she falls on the ground, starting to convulse intensely.

“Oh-oh-oh!” Chris laughs a little, him and Chef kneeling down in front of the black-haired girl. “Man! That was _so_ sick! I nearly puked! … nearly.”

Heather eventually stands up after a few minutes, the girl trying her best to forget what just happened. Gwen also walks back to her place right next to you, subtly giving you a fist bump as she arrives.

“Time for (Y/N)’s question from Duncan!” Chris gets out another piece of paper, making you tense up. “Here’s his question: Do you give him permission to kill Harold for getting Courtney kicked off?”

“ _What!?_ ” Heather puts her arms in the air, angrier than before. “What kind of question is that!?”

“That’s his question.” Chris rolls his eyes annoyingly. “We can’t decide what the people ask, Heather. Anyway… (Y/N). Your answer?”

You smirk. “I’m pretty sure Courtney already gave him a pretty bad punishment, so… sorry honey. Maybe next time.”

_If my questions are as easy as this one, I might actually win this whole thing._

Chris nods at your answer before he smiles wildly.

“It’s now time for Heather to _spin_ the _bottle_!”

Heather groans in pure annoyance as she walks towards the wheel, spinning the bottle with full force.

“Ezequïel’s dare is… chew your own toenail… _slowly._ ”

“ _Gwen!_ I dare Gwen!”

Chef puts down a pink chair before he shows it with an evil smile, Gwen walking over at the same time as Heather walks back to the table. You see the black-haired girl say a few words to the goth one, but you’re too far away to actually hear them. Gwen eventually sits down on the chair and gets off her left boot, showing her feet to Chef as he cuts down a toenail. He then presents it to her, the evil smile still on his face, and she starts to chew it rather rapidly.

“Ah-ah-ah-ah!” Heather’s voice makes her stop. “He said to chew it… _slowly._ ”

Gwen continues to chew now at a slower pace, finally gulping it after a few seconds.

“There! Satisfied?”

“Very.” Heather smirks. “I’m just picturing Trent watching this. Something tells me that he won’t be eager to lock lips with you anytime soon.”

When Gwen sits down back at her place, she sends the girl a mean stare.

“You should talk, pit breath.”

You snort, Heather’s shocked expression making the whole scene hilarious.

“(Y/N)! Here’s your question.” You turn your attention back to Chris, waiting for the worst misogynist question you could ever hear. “What is the first thing you would do if you woke up one day as the opposite sex?”

“ _Those questions are too easy!_ ” Heather stands up, screaming. “There’s no drama in them! How the hell can she _not_ answer them and get kicked off!?”

Chris quirks an eyebrow, then ignores the girl.

“(Y/N). Your answer?”

“I would probably scream for a long time.”

“That’s a pretty logical answer. I’ll accept it.”

“ _How can you accept that answer!?_ ”

“Owen! Why don’t you come to spin the bottle now, huh?”

The blond’s already spinning the green bottle with a huge smile, no one has seen him walk over the wheel.

“Beth!” Chris looks down at his notes. “Re-chewing a lot of Harold’s gum!”

Owen thinks for a moment, looking at the used pink gum in the jar Chef’s showing him. “I _will_ take the dare!”

You and the girls can’t help but gasp in shock.

“Dude...” Chris gives the blond a long look. “It’s chewed gum. _Harold’s_ chewed gum?”

“I know! But it must be pretty special if he’s been saving it!”

You hide your eyes when you see Chef give the gum to Owen, not wanting to actually see that.

“Hmm! Full body!” The word makes you look back at the blond, not believing what’s happening. “A delicate fruity aroma, with a hint of citrus! Ha-ha-ha! Robust, yet balanced! Oh! Summery! Wou-hou-hou! And a crunchy center!”

You gag, suddenly understanding what the crunchy part might be.

_This is so disgusting._

“Owen wins the first freebie!” Chris gives the blond the purple bottle, Owen taking it with a huge grin. “And a tightened shower, if you want!”

“No, I’m good. Thanks.”

“Anyway, here’s (Y/N) question from Beth.” Chris grins down at his notes. “Who are the five hottest people on the show?”

You can’t help but snort. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Huh.” Heather crosses her arms on her chest. “This could cause drama… alright. I’ll allow it.”

“You don’t decide the questions, Heather.” Chris gives the black-haired girl a long stare before he turns back at you. “What’s your answer, (Y/N)?”

“Well… I’d say… from five to one...” You frown, thinking deeply. “Heather, Gwen, Courtney, Duncan, and Justin.”

You hear Heather gasps in surprise, not seeing hide her blushing face and her genuine smile since Gwen gives you a smirk.

“You think I’m the fourth hottest person here?”

“Well, yeah. I instantly thought you were hot when I first saw you… I didn’t tell you that?”

The goth’s expression turns to a sweet one. “No… you didn’t.”

You smile back at her. “Well… now you know.”

* * *

“This could be harder than I thought.” Gwen gives the camera a long look. “And why do I think (Y/N) is so cute?”

* * *

“Welcome back to TDI’s semi-finals! In a challenge, we like to call… I Triple Dog Dare You!” Chris shows the wheel, still smiling. “Gwen! You’re up next.”

The goth girl spins the bottle, joy still presents on her face. She loses it once she notices the bottle spin, her body tensing up when it stops on Cody.

_Oh god. I wonder what his question’s gonna be…_

“Drop a tray of ice into your undies, and let them melt!”

Gwen smirks. “That’s it? I can handle that!”

She shoves a handful of ice inside her skirt without even thinking about it, a painful expression now settling on her face.

“That’s one cool chick with a frosti-tute! Chilling by the-”

“ _Just give me the stupid freebie!_ ”

Gwen takes the freebie out of Chef’s hands, Chris sighing.

“And (Y/N) question from Cody is… What was your most embarrassing moment in public?”

The grip on the table tightens, your face turning white.

“I-I euhm...”

“If you don’t answer, it’s the walk of shame for you!”

You take a breath in, then aver your eyes.

“My skirt once fell to my feet in the middle of a play in front of everyone.”

You hear snorts all around the room, and you shot a death glare at each person.

“It’s not funny, okay? I was seven! It was horrible!”

“Anyway, my turn!” Heather points at Chris with a determination look before she walks over. “And _I’m_ taking the dare! I don’t care what it is!”

When the bottle settles on Tyler, you can’t help but notice the smug on Heather’s face.

* * *

“How bad can the dare be? I already licked Owen’s armpit!”

* * *

You hide your face in your hands, not wanting to see Heather licking the jelly off Owen’s belly button.

“Sorry...”

“Shut up Owen!”

“Twice in a row’s gotta hurt!”

“ _I mean it!_ ”

“Especially since I never was in there. Not cause I don’t want to! I just forget.”

Even you almost puke, turning around completely to try and concentrate on something else as you hear the slurping sounds.

“Hey! You didn’t puke this time!”

Next thing you know, you’re the one puking.

* * *

“Okay! We'll give Heather a few more minutes on life support before we start the next round… _buuut_! Since (Y/N) is finally done puking, we can ask her Tyler’s question! Which is...”

You wipe away the vomit from your mouth, waiting for anything and everything.

“ _Oooh_! I think we might have a theme...” Chris smirks, then shows off the room. “(Y/N). Who is the sexiest person in this room?”

“Wait, what?” You blink your eyes a couple of times, still feeling groggy from the events. “I don’t know… I guess… Gwen?”

The goth girl slightly blushes and crosses her arm on her chest, hiding her face to not show how happy she is with the answer.

* * *

“Y-yeah!” Owen cheers when the bottle stops on Izzy’s face. “Come on, Izzy! Bring it!”

“Give a purple nurple… to a sleeping bear!”

_Do you mean Marshmallow? Oof… you’re dead, Owen._

“Y-y-yes! Sounds wicked, man!” Owen suddenly stops laughing. “What’s a purple nurple?”

* * *

When Owen comes back with a beat-up face, Chris gives him another freebie and then looks back down at his notes.

“Izzy’s question is… who was your first kiss?”

You suddenly feel the heat on your cheeks, and you start to play with your fingers.

“W-well… actually, it… it was Courtney.”

“Wait, really?” Heather quirks an eyebrow at you, not quite believing it. “That crazy girlfriend of yours was your first kiss?”

“Yeah, why?” You frown, not sure to understand where she’s going. “Is that a problem?”

“There’s no problem, (Y/N).” Gwen puts her hand on your shoulder, smiling at you. “I think it’s actually very sweet.”

You smile back at her, feeling less embarrassed, then you watch your friend walk over the wheel and spin the bottle again. It finally stops on Harold, and you wait for the worst.

“Lick Owen’s toe jam!”

“Oh!” Owen smiles, understanding something. “Is that what that black gunk is?”

Gwen gives Heather a knowing smile, but the black-haired girl shows her purple bottle.

“I’ll use my freebie!”

“Good call… But (Y/N) still has to answer the question! Which is...” Chris chuckles, an excited smile on his face. “Who do you like the least in this room and why?”

“Oh, um...” You feel your heart squeeze in anxiety. “I hope no one takes any offense...”

“Nonsense! Why would anyone be mad?” Chris’ smile stretches out, the man waiting for your answer. “So? Who is it?”

“Well, I guess… Heather?”

The black-haired girl rolls her eyes. “Of course you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you!” You turn at her with a panicking expression, not wanting to hurt your feelings. “I actually like you now, you know? You’re pretty funny, confident and you can be kind when you want too… it’s just that. You’re mean a lot of times… so that’s why you’re not my favorite person.”

She averts your eyes from your guilty face, her cheeks getting red again.

“Whatever. You’re not my favorite person either.”

Heather’s bottle stops spinning on Geoff’s face.

“Drink powder fruit punch from the communal toilet!”

Heather points at Gwen with a revengeful smile, enjoying her little moment as Gwen gives out a terrified expression.

“Quite the predicament, Gwen. Do you _use_ the freebie, or do you save it from an even sicker dare down the road? What to do? _What_ to _dooo…?_ ”

Gwen takes a breath, then pinches her nose.

“I’m going in.”

* * *

“So totally sick!” Chris smiles at the camera. “Chef’s going down!”

* * *

You can’t help but scoot away from Gwen once she sits back, the horrible odor of the communal toilet making you want to puke all over again.

“(Y/N)! Your question...” Chris’ voice takes your attention again. “If someone paid you a thousand dollars to wear your bra outside your shirt… would you do it?”

You snort. “What? Pff, no! That’s so uncomfortable! Make it a million and we’ll talk.”

Chris nods and silently gives Owen the permission to spin the bottle again, the thing stopping on Cody for the second time today. Chris grins evilly, giving the boy a long look.

“Eat dog food.”

_Not… that disgusting, compared to everything else._

“Yeah, baby! Man, sorry guys!” Owen looks back at Heather and Gwen with a guilty expression. “I keep getting all the good ones!”

Chris laughs nervously. “Okay! Down boy! Dude, you have two freebies you can use! Better yet! You could dare an opponent…! Like, say… one without a freebie…?”

Heather gasps and gives the host a death glare, Gwen pointing at the black-haired girl with a smirk.

“You still have a bit of jelly on your lower lip.”

“Go stick your face back in the toilet!”

“Guys! Chill, okay?” You turn your head between them, a serious expression on your face. “You’re gonna make me puke again.”

They both shut up, not wanting you to feel sick again because of them.

“It’s cool, bro! My dog digs this food! Time to find out what I’ve been missing!” Owen takes the plate of dog food from Chris’ hands, immediately shoving it inside his mouth without even thinking. “Meaty tasting!”

You feel your heart drop, and before you know it, everyone’s puking.

* * *

“Okay…” Chris takes a moment, giving the camera a weak look. “That was _so_ gross!”

The host can’t help himself but vomit again at the thought.

“Is there anything these weirdos won’t do?”

* * *

After the vomit has been wiped and cleaned by the staff, the show continues.

“Ugh…” Chris looks down at his notes with a weak stare. “Cody’s second question for (Y/N) is… what is something you’ve done to try and be cooler?”

“Huh...” You rub your eyes, feeling weaker and weaker by the minute. “I once dyed my hair pink… does that count?”

“You had pink hair!?” Gwen gives you a wild smile. “Do you have a picture?”

You giggle. “Yeah, back at home. I can show you some once the show’s over.”

“I would love that!”

* * *

As expected, your friends spun the bottle a couple of times more, also facing some dumb and horrible dare as the day went by. You also had to answer your fellow campers’ questions, some of them dumb, some of them interesting, and some of them being drama related.

“From Trent: How does a poly relationship work?”

“Each one is unique. But it basically works on trust and consent. As long as everyone is okay with the terms you come up with, everything’s okay.”

“From Leshawna: If you had to make out with someone here, who would it be?”

“I’d day Heather since she’s the one who put less disgusting things in her mouth.”

“From your best friend Bridgette: Do you still sleep with a stuffed animal?”

“Not here. But back home, I still have some that I sleep with.”

“From Katie and Sadie: Do you think you’ll marry Duncan and Courtney?”

“That’s a little too early to think about… but honestly, I don’t I’ll marry anyone. I would be lucky if I do.”

“From Eva: Who are you jealous of?”

“Of you, Chris! You have everything! Who else would I be jealous of?”

“From Noah: If someone gave you a thousand hundred dollars to dump your significant others, would you do it?”

“ _What!?_ **No!** I’d never do that! Who the hell asks a question like that!?”

And here you are now, Chris smiling back at all of you with exhaustion.

“I can’t believe no one’s dropped out and Owen’s got twenty freebies!”

“Y-y-yeah, baby!”

Owen then proceeds to blows on his freebies, starting to play a melody.

“Gwen and Heather have squat! And (Y/N) can still get kicked off at any moment… but not to worry! There’s still plenty to be motivated about!”

“Chris!” Owen’s scream makes you jump up. “I’d like to give away half my freebies!”

You send Gwen a confused look, the goth girl only giving you a knowing smirk.

“Oh, well, um...” Chris looks around for a second, the smiles. “Okay. Are you sure?”

Owen gives out half of his freebies to Gwen as an answer.

“ _Hello?_ ” Heather crosses her arms on her chest. “Ix-nay on the onspiracy-cay! That is totally unfair! Get out your rulebook into your rule-checking thing! They’re obviously gonna gang up and whoop me with dares! There has to be a rule about this kind of thing!”

“Sorry! Them’s the rules! Not a rule to be added! Nada!”

“Plus, it makes a great show.”

“(Y/N) is right! Man, you would really make a great host.”

You smile brightly. “Thanks, Chris! That’s a huge compliment from you!”

Heather groans, Gwen spinning the bottle with a huge grin.

You feel your heart beat up faster when it lands on Courtney, a sweet smile settling on your face.

“Drink a blended puree of Chef’s mystery meat.”

When Chef stands in front of Gwen, the goth girl starts to chant an old song you all know.

“Eenie, meenie, miney… **Heather**.”

Heather drinks the whole beverage without puking, although you think you saw her gulping it back.

“(Y/N)! Your question! And it’s a big one!”

_A big one…? What would Courtney possibly ask me-_

“Are you still in love with Gwen?”

A dreadful feeling washes over you.

You weren’t expecting that.

“Wait, what? Why would she asks that?”

Chris shrugs, smirking. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe she’s feeling insecure.”

“Well, I...” You sigh. “I think I’ll always love Gwen.”

The goth girl gasps and looks at you.

“Wait, really?”

You avert your eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Alright...” Chris shakes his head, then looks at Heather. “Anyway… time for more spins!”

* * *

You couldn’t help but grin like a maniac when Gwen and Owen ganged up on Heather. It was fun watching face all the dares, your two friends using their freebies anytime she would give them one. Of course, you had to answer your fair share of questions… but they weren’t as bad as all the ones you got before. Pretty average truth or dare questions, if you ask me.

When the bottle stops on Lindsay for the first time ever, you can’t help your excitement.

“Oh, _finally_ I catch a break!” Heather sighs, shaking her head. “There is no way _Lindsay_ can think of anything bad.”

“Oooh… You’re not gonna like this one!” Chris’ smile stretches out, making Heather panic for a second. “Have your head shaved by Chef!”

“ _ **WHAT!?**_ ”

You and Gwen give each other a high five, Owen chuckling under his breath.

“Lindsay rules!”

They force Heather to sit down in a barber chair, Chef smiling evilly at her.

“What’s it going to be, Heather? Are you _going_ to do the dare…? Or the walk of shame?”

You all look in excitement as Chef approaches the shaving device to Heather’s head, the girl suddenly screaming and kicking it with her feet. You gasp when the device falls right unto her, her horrified scream being heard as it chops bits and bits of the black hair.

“Wow.” Chris only looks at her half bald head, the girl still screaming in shock. “Well, that was an unfortunate accident… Looks like Heather’s out.”

“What are you talking about?” Heather squints her eyes angrily. “He shaved my head!”

“True… but you didn’t actually accept the dare. If you had… you’d still be bald… but at least you’d be in the game!”

“That was harsh!” Owen rubs his chin. “Tough break...”

Heather suddenly screams so loud, that you actually hide under the table, looking up slightly to see her grab Chris by his shirt.

“Sorry! Them’s the rules!”

“ _ **I thought you said they weren’t any rules!**_ ”

“Yeah… I know, it’s complicated...” Chris then smirks. “But here’s the rove… you lose, they win!”

“ _No way! We won!_ ”

You, Gwen and Owen start to cheer and scream in joy, but Chris interrupts you.

“Ah-ah-ah! Wait for a second, (Y/N)! You still have to answer Lindsay’s question!”

You don’t feel nervous about the blonde's question. What’s the worse that she can ask?

“Oh, great one! Who do you prefer? Duncan or Courtney?”

It feels like someone just stabs you in the gut, repetitively.

“Well, I don’t prefer someone. I love them both with all my heart.”

Chris squints his eyes at you. “Nah, you have to _have_ a favorite. So come on! Tell me… which one is it?”

You squint your eyes back. “ _I don’t have a favorite!_ ”

“Awn, come _on!_ There must be one you find more annoying than the other!”

“Okay, here’s the thing, Chris...” You point at him, never having felt more serious in your entire life. “Duncan and Courtney are very different people, and both of them have their own qualities and flaws. So they’re like a perfect combo match for me! How can I prefer one more from the other?”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N)… but that’s not answering the question.”

You feel your heart sink inside your stomach.

“… what?”

“The question is which do you prefer… not if you love them both. Now, I feel kind. So I’ll give you the last chance to answer. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to send you to the boat of losers with Heather.”

You hear your heartbeat in your head, a million thoughts attacking your brain.

“So… which one is it?” Chris tilts his head from a side to the other as he talks. “Duncan… or Courtney?”

You bite your bottom lip, your grip on the table getting tighter.

“I love them both _equally._ ”

Chris sighs, shaking his head.

“Then I guess it’s the boat of losers for you, (Y/N).” He throws his notes away, coming to you to pull you towards the boat while Chef takes care of a screaming Heather. “Quite a shame, too. I would have loved for you to win.”

You sadly smile, letting yourself follow the host. “I guess we can’t always have what we want, right?”

_At least I’ll see my loves again._

“ _Fine!_ ” Heather lets herself get dragged away by Chef. “But you’ll be hearing from my lawyers!”

“Yeah, yeah… I know. It’s gonna be a long ride.”

You sit down in the boat of losers with the not so black-haired girl, Heather pointing back at Chris in anger.

“A long ride to court when I sue you for everything you’ve done!”

You ignore the girl and give out a sad smile to Gwen and Owen, both of them almost crying at your departure.

“Bah-ah!” Owen suddenly crushes you in his arm, and you feel his tears falling down on your head. “I’m gonna miss you!”

You can’t help but chuckle, patting the blond’s back. “I’m gonna miss you too, you big sweet sunshine.”

He frees you, somehow not having killed you under his embrace, and you let your own arms open for Gwen.

“I hate that Lindsay asked you that.” The goth girl squeezes you tight against herself. “You deserve to win more than anyone else!”

“Don’t underestimate yourself, Gwen.” You give her a small smile. “You deserve it too.”

She slowly nods, then walks back to give you some space. You see Chef walk on the boat to drive you away soon, and you wave back at Chris.

“Bye, Chris! Knock ‘em dead in the finals, will you?”

The psychopathic host chuckles and gives you a thumbs up.

“I will. Don’t worry!”

When the boat finally takes its departure, you think you see Chris loses his smile, almost like he didn’t want you to lose today. But he soon regains his usual smile, turning back at the camera crew.

“And then they were two! Tune in to see who will win the check for one hundred thousand dollars on Total Drama Island!”

“ _You want drama!?_ ” You jump up at Heather’s screams beside you, eventually rolling your eyes at her. “ _You’ll be pantyless, jobless! Your name will be mud on every block from here to Cape Breton!_ ”

“Hey.” You enter your head inside the space Chef’s driving the boat. “Mind if I join you instead of Heather?”

He nods, smiling back sadly at you. “Of course you can, kiddo.”

And so you ride the way towards the secret loser place with Chef, both of you ignoring Heather’s scream at Camp Wawanakwa.


	27. TDI: The Very Last Episode Really!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOT THE LAST CHAPTER GUYS!
> 
> I just want to be clear cause the title can be misleading ;) 
> 
> Also, next chapter will be the special episode: Total Drama Drama Drama Island. I don't know how long it would be, but we'll see!
> 
> Hope you'll like this chapter closing the Total Drama Island arc! :3

**26: The Very Last Episode Really!**

All you can see is her face up close, her hands grabbing every part of your skin as you two share a heated passionate kisses after another. She groans in pleasure, and you can’t help but smirk at that. She squeezes your butt in revenge and you gasp, yours lips parting away for that moment.

“ _God, I’ve missed you_.”

“ _Good._ ” She starts to kiss your jawline. “ _Cause I’m gonna show you what happens when you flirt with other girls._ ”

She slightly bites your neck and you feel your core shake from the action.

“ _C-courtney..._ ”

Your eyes shut down from the sudden light and you flinch, the closet door having been open. Courtney groans in annoyance, then puts her hand on top of her eyes to try and see who just interrupted you.

“ **I can’t believe you two started without me.** ”

You feel your face heat up, your girlfriend rolling her eyes at the punk boy.

“Maybe if you didn’t take so long, we wouldn’t have grown tired of waiting.”

“I was gone _five minutes._ ”

“Five minutes is too long.”

Duncan smirks annoyingly. “Wow, impatient much, princess?”

Courtney squints her eyes at him.

“Look, are you joining or not?”

He takes one look at your flushed expression, then instantly comes in the closet and shuts the door behind him.

* * *

The losers’ resort is amazing.

I mean, you already knew that it would be amazing, since you’ve read it in the contract you signed back at the beginning of the summer, but _damn._

“You’re drooling again.”

You tear your eyes away from the coconut trees to look at Noah, the class president boy reading a pretty thick book. You feel your face heat up, and you frown.

“No, I’m not!”

Noah rolls his eyes. “I meant metaphorically.”

“I’m not metaphorically drooling.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m not!”

“Are you guys bickering again?” Bridgette arrives to sit beside you, and you give her a bright smile. “I’m starting to think Noah’s going to steal my best friend title.”

The boy snorts. “Like I would want to be her best friend.”

“Yeah, well, too bad.” You stick out your tongue at him. “I would have been the greatest thing that could ever happen to you.”

He smiles and goes back to his book, Bridgette taking back your attention by hugging you out of nowhere.

“Oh! I’m so glad you’re here!” You laugh and hug her back, the blond’s joy shifting a little when she gives you a sad expression. “I’m sorry that you got kicked off though… if only Lindsay didn’t ask a question like that.”

“Bri, it’s perfectly fine!” You shake your head with a bright smile, not at all bothered. “Lindsay was just curious, I don’t think she wanted me to get kicked off. Also, who cares? I get to spend time with all of you in this awesome place!”

Bridgette chuckles when you throw your hands in the air, then smirks.

“You mean you get to spend time with Courtney and Duncan… the three of you have disappeared for a long time this morning.”

You hide your blushing face behind your hands, Noah rolling his eyes at you.

“Can you not talk about that in public?”

You instantly give out a smug, turning back to the class president boy.

“Awwwn… Mister grumpy face is annoyed.”

He squints his eyes at you with a mean stare. “I don’t have a grumpy face.”

“Um...” Bridgette quirks an eyebrow. “Yes, you do.”

“I do not.”

You point at him. “Yes, you do!”

“I do _not_ -”

“ _Hey there, everyone!_ ”

You all jump up at the sound of Chris’ voice, the psychopathic host suddenly being in the middle of the resort with his usual wide smile.

“As you all know, today’s the final challenge… and you get to be there in person to witness it! So dress up, take your things and follow me to the boat! We’ve got a long day ahead of us!”

As you all watch him walk away from the gigantic pool, you chuckle and shake your head, then stands up from the stools to walk with Bridgette and Noah.

“Guess it’s showtime.”

* * *

“It’s time to welcome the twenty-one campers who did not make it to the finals!”

You walk towards the bleachers with the rest of your fellow campers, Gwen and Owen standing beside Chris as they look at you all with wide eyes. The big blond stretches out a smile, throwing his hands in the air.

“Hey, guys! Good to see ya!”

You wave at him and give Gwen a smile as you pass, the goth girl smiling back with red cheeks before she averts her eyes. You feel someone take your hand and squeeze it, and you look back to see Courtney pouting in annoyance. You giggle and kiss her cheek, gaining a small smile from her just when Duncan throws his arm around your shoulder.

“Will everyone who walked the dock of shame and left camp on the boat of losers kindly take a seat in the peanut gallery of failure!” You notice that each wooden bleachers have either Gwen’s face or Owen’s on it. “The side you choose should represent who you’ll like to cheer on to victory in today’s final competition!”

You’re about to walk towards Gwen’s side when both your girlfriend and boyfriend stop you. You turn back and give them a confused look.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re cheering for Owen, babe.”

You quirk an eyebrow at Duncan. “Maybe you guys. I’m gonna cheer for Gwen.”

“No, you’re not!” Courtney squints her eyes at you. “If you do, it means you love her more than us!”

“It means I’m a good friend.” You take your hands away from them, and shake your head. “You guys know I love you a lot. Don’t you trust me even a little?”

“I do.” Duncan puts his hands in his pocket, looking at Courtney in boredom. “Come on, princess. Let her cheer for Gwen. It doesn’t mean she’ll stop being ours.”

Courtney gasps. “But-”

“ _Let’s go_.”

The punk boy takes her by the arm and drags her towards Owen’s side, ignoring her complaints, and you can’t help but chuckle at that. You decide to go sit down between Bridgette and Lindsay, giving Leshawna a thumbs up on your way over. That’s when you notice Heather sitting in the Owen’s bleachers, a black-haired wig on her head.

“Nice rug.”

Heather sends the goth girl a mean stare.

“Oh, shut it-” She stops when Izzy touches her wig, and snaps the ginger-haired girl’s hand. “Stop touching my hair crazy girl!”

You and Bridgette snickers at the sight, Lindsay doing her best to not laugh outloud. Heather turns back at you three with a quirking eyebrow, and you all stop to give her bright smiles. The girl just rolls her eyes at your reactions about her hair, then smiles evilly when she turns her attention back on Gwen.

“Gwen. Owen.” Chris takes back everyone’s attention. “This is your chance to tell the peanut gallery of failure what you would do with the money if you won and why you deserve it!”

“Well, I guess I’m pretty proud of getting this far...” Gwen takes a moment to think about her answer. “I mean, maybe if I can survive here, the rest of high school won’t be so bad.”

Izzy suddenly laughs outloud, but quickly stops and apologizes.

“Well, I’m always good for my word, and did promise to split my hundred grand with Owen, but that would still leave me a ton of cash.” The goth girl smiles sweetly. “I guess I’d go traveling and then to university to study art history!”

You and Leshawna starts to cheer for her, both of you proud of her wanting to follow her dreams.

“Yeah, that’s it! Girlfriend’s got some goal!”

“You’ll achieve those dreams, Gwen! I’m sure of it!”

Trent nods with a small smile. “Very cool.”

“Wow. That’s really sweet!” Chris loses his own smile for a second. “Boring… but sweet! Owen?”

The big blond takes a moment to think, then grins wildly.

“I’d throw the biggest hugest sickest party ever!” He then points violently at Chris. “And then invite everyone here! Boo-yah!”

Everyone on Owen’s side instantly stands up to cheer for him, and a couple of people from Gwen’s stands up to go to the blond’s. You grab Bridgette’s wrist before she can leave, giving her a confused look.

“Bri, what are you doing? What about Gwen?”

“The biggest party in the world, (Y/N)!” She smiles excitedly. “I can’t miss that!”

“What? But Bri-”

“I’m sorry, but I’m sure Gwen would understand.”

She then leaves to go cheer with the other campers. You sigh, and turn towards Lindsay to let out a surprised expression.

“Lindsay, you’re not interested in the party?”

“Oh, please.” She makes a small movement with her hand. “I’ve been to a lot of parties in my life. This one can’t be as impressive as those ones.”

“Oh! Oh! And I forgot!” Owen takes back all the attention. “It’ll be on a yacht!”

Lindsay loses her smile and stands up to go on Owen’s side, averting her eyes in shame when you stare at her in complete disbelief. Gwen squints her eyes at the very huge crowd cheering for Owen and puts her hands on her hips.

“Nice.”

“Alright!” Chris points at the sky. “It’s time for the final challenge! The rejected Olympic rally-race.” Each of the parts was pitch to the committee, but sadly rejected as an Olympic big sport.”

Chris then takes out two hats from behind his back: a chicken and a cow one; before he throws them both at Gwen and Owen.

“Each one of you has to put on one of these.”

Gwen squints her eyes at her chicken hat. “I think it’s clear why this event wasn’t accepted.”

“Dressed as a cow and a chicken, run to the first location and shimmy up the pole to retrieve your flag. If you don’t have the flag, don’t bother coming down of that pole.”

You smirk, sharing a knowing look with Leshawna.

_Gwen’s gonna ace that part._

“Next, you’ll cross the three-hundred meter balance beam suspended across a massive gorge why carrying an eagle’s egg.”

You instantly loses your smirk.

_Wait, what?_

“Oh.” Owen awkwardly laughs. “Is that all?”

Chris’ smirk never has seem so evil before.

“No...” His answer makes everyone’s eyes widen. “Below, your friends the rare but real man-eating fresh water sharks!”

“ _Damn._ ” You shake your head. “I’m _so_ happy I’m not one of the finalists.”

“The final egg of the race is a long distant run returning to the finish line here! First camper to arrive wins!”

“Yeah, go Owen!” Geoff suddenly stands up and screams at the top of his lungs. “We want a party!”

“And you’ll get one! _Wou-hou!_ ”

The whole team supporting Owen starts to cheer again, including your girlfriend and boyfriend, so you and the remaining people on the supporting Gwen team starts to cheer.

“You’re the best, Gwen!”

“Go, Gwen! Kick his butt, girl!”

“You can do it Gwen!”

Leshawna hits Eva in the sides, the scary girl quirking an eyebrow.

“I don’t cheer.”

Trent puts his hands around his mouth to try and scream louder.

“Come on, Gwen! You got this!”

“On your marks...” Gwen and Owen both prepare to run. “Get set… go!”

You continue to cheer on when you see the two teenagers run like their being chased by death, Trent following Gwen close behind to support her while some of team supporting Owen were following him and motivating him. You hear Leshawna scream louder than you, and you can’t help but smile brightly. That’s until Trent gets off his shirt to wipe off something of Gwen’s pole, the goth girl starting to daydream.

“Yo!” Leshawna is quicker on it than you. “Let’s go, girl!”

“We know Trent is handsome, but you don’t have time for daydreaming!”

Gwen shakes her head and start to climb up the pole rather easily now, you and Leshawna sharing a proud high five. You chuckle when you see your friends trying to help Owen climb up the pole, the goth girl already running towards the second part of the challenge with her flag in her hands.

“I think I’ll go wait for Gwen on the other side of the gorge.” You point at where you’ll be headed, looking back at Leshawna. “You wanna join?”

“No thanks, girl. I’ll just wait for her here and cheer for her when she’s about to win.”

You smile brightly as you walk away. “Alright then.”

You manage to join your two significant others on the way, the both of them already walking towards the other side of the gorge. Duncan smirks at you while he walks with his arms crossed behind his neck, preferring to stay silent since Courtney’s already all on you.

“Hey, sweetie.” You giggle when she kisses your cheek. “How’s changing your mind about who you’re cheering for?”

“Still not happening.” Courtney groans and rolls her eyes, clearly not happy with your answer. “Relax, honey. As soon as this days is done, I’m giving all my attention to you and Duncan.”

“You better spend tonight with us.” The punk boy’s smirk stretches out. “Courtney wants to celebrate our one month anniversary.”

Your eyes widen with passion. “What, really? Even though it’s already late?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Oh my god, that would be great! What do you guys want to do!”

Courtney chuckles and kisses the top of your hand, Duncan wrapping his arm around your shoulders to then kiss your temple.

“Nothing too special.” Courtney grins, sharing a knowing look with Duncan. “Just spend some time together”

You smile sweetly at them. “That’s completely fine by me.”

They just chuckle as you all continue to walk, eventually joining Chris, Chef and Trent on one side while Gwen takes an eagle egg from the other.

“Okay.” Chris turns to one of the cameras to talk. “Gwen has her eagle’s egg and is starting the second challenge!”

Trent turns to the host in confusion. “What are the eggs for?”

“Oh, _you’ll see..._ ” Chef laughs maniacally, and you can’t help but quirk an eyebrow at that.

“ _Alexander the insanely great!_ ” Owen’s voice makes you jump up, and you notice that he’s staring at the second challenge with a terrified face. “ _That’s a deep gorge!_ ”

Just as he says that, Gwen starts to lose her balance, and you start to panic.

“That’s it!” Trent smiles in a comforting way. “Get your balance back! Stay calm!”

“ _Oh no!_ ” Owen accidentaly throws his egg in the air, but manages to catch Gwen. “Hang on, Gwen! You can do it! Just don’t fall into the shark infested water!”

Gwen shakily screams. “Really not helping Owen!”

“ _Sorry!_ ”

You sigh in relief when she regains her balance, the goth girl and the big blond now both slowly walking across the gorge. That’s until the screeches of two dangerous mother eagles are being heard, and all colors leave your face to reveal its whiteness. Chris turns to you, Duncan and Courtney, his smile’s stretching out.

“Angry eagle parents?”

Duncan laughs, then gives the host a high five.

“Oh, snap! That is _messed up!_ ”

Courtney squints her eyes at the punk boy.

“What? You mean you like watching this?” She turns back at the two contestants with a terrified expression. “They could die!”

“I don’t want to see it.” You hide your eyes behind your hands. “I don’t want to see it!”

“Awn, mellow your yellow, babes. This is awesome TV!”

* * *

Courtney stares at the camera in annoyance.

“Duncan is so immature. What is it about almost dying and bodily functions that guys love!”

* * *

Courtney continues to give Duncan a mean stare.

“Why would I want to watch Gwen and Owen risk their lives?”

You’re still hiding your eyes. “Is it almost done?”

Chris shakes his head. “Nope!”

“This is life at its most raw!” The punk boy tries to explain his way of thinking with a proud smirk. “Check out Elvis here with his guitar.”

You slightly move away your fingers to see Trent holding his guitar in the most panicking way possible. Though, you’re personally asking yourself where in the world does his guitar come from.

“One miss-step and his girlfriend is sharked bate.” Duncan chuckles. “Now that would make an interesting song.”

“… that would make an amazing song!”

Duncan smiles at your sudden outburst, loving to see your imagination already trying to create the lyrics of that possible song. You laugh outloud when Courtney grabs the boy to kiss him passionately, none of you having expect her to do that.

* * *

“Then again...” Courtney smirks as she averts her eyes. “Danger is kind of hot.”

* * *

When Courtney stops kissing Duncan, she sends him a death stare.

“You’re still not my type.”

“You make me sick.”

You roll your eyes with a smile when they kiss again, seeing through their little “tsundere” act. You feel someone nudge your side, and you turn your head to see Chris give you a confused look.

“You’re not bothered by this?”

Your smiles grows. “I love them both and they love me back. Why should I be bothered?”

“Hm.” He frowns for a second, but then smiles brightly. “Alright! You date anyone you want after all.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him, not sure how to interpret this exchange. Is Chris concern about who you date? But that would mean that he worries and cares about you, which is not possible. Though, you do remember Chef saying that he considers you like some kind of daughter; or at least a very close niece. Is that something you should believe is true?

Your train of thoughts get interrupted by Owen, his screaming words also stopping Duncan and Courtney from kissing.

“ _It’s coming this way!_ ”

You look in time to see both Gwen and Owen duck as one of the eagles try to shove them off their path.

“ _What do we do?!_ ”

Gwen gives the big blond a horrified look. “ _STEP ON IT!_ ”

Now you watch them both continue to walk with a dreadful expression, almost not noticing Heather arriving next to you and Chris while dragging Justin.

“Insane parents!” Her voice gets your attention away. “Nice twist!”

Her compliment makes Chris grin like a maniac, and you can’t help but roll your eyes at this.

“You can do this Gwen!” Trent’s voice makes you turn back at him. “You’re the most awesome girl I’ve ever met! In fact, I was thinking… I think I love-”

“ _Okay!_ ” Gwen ducks an eagle before continuing to talk. “ _I_ so _can’t deal with distractions now, Trent!_ ”

“Then you’re gonna hate this!”

As soon as she finishes talking, Heather rips away Justin shirt’s, which makes both Gwen and Owen gawk in admiration at him. You and Courtney also open your mouths at the sight, not noticing Duncan sulking in anger.

“Gwen!” Trent gets himself in front of Justin, hiding his body and also freeing everyone from his beauty. “Ignore the incredibly hot man candy and keep walking!”

His voice not only pushes the two contestants to continue walking, it also makes you shake your head and notice Duncan snapping his fingers in front of Courtney’s face.

“ **Hey, snap out of it**.”

“Awn...” You pour your arms around him, grinning up at his face. “Someone’s jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!”

Courtney chuckles, then pinches his cheek. “Yes, you are!”

“No.” He squints his eyes menacingly at her. “I’m not.”

“Don’t worry, babe.” You kiss his cheek, which makes him blush for a moment. “You’ll have lots of attention tonight.”

He smirks at your words, not exactly showing how happy they’re making him, and he’s about to tell something when Gwen’s voice shuts him up.

“Is that all you got?”

You squeeze in delight when you see that she just finishes to cross over.

“Yes, Gwen!” You leave your two lovers without even thinking, starting to cheer for her as you run down the hill. “Just one part left! You can do it!”

She smiles brightly at you, happy to see you follow her. “Thanks, (Y/N)! You and Trent helped me a lot! Don’t tell him that, though. I’m still mad at him.”

You nod and mimic sewing your mouth close, which makes her chuckle a little. As soon as you finish that conversation, Trent arrives running behind you.

“Hey! Glad you didn’t die back there!”

“Jeez.” Gwen averts her eyes. “Thanks.”

She then smiles, remembering something.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” She turns her head back at the music boy. “Thanks for the cupcake!”

Trent frowns. “What cupcake?”

“The one you left for me!”

“I didn’t give you a cupcake.”

“Oh-oh.” You shake your head, feeling yourself getting out of breath soon. “Doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah...” Trent nods to agree with you, then lets a question out. “Was it good?”

“I don’t know...” Gwen frowns in confusion at the situation. “I didn’t eat it.”

“Thank god.” You smirk, almost chuckling. “You might have averted a nasty poison trap from someone.”

She smirks back. “Yeah, I have an idea of who might have done this.”

Just has you says this, you see Owen scream and run for the confession booth, the supporting Owen team and Chris all stopping right next to it.

“Owen! _No!_ ” The host screams in panic. “Not in the confession cam!”

You, Gwen and Trent all pass the groups with smirks and snickers, Gwen also letting out a small remark towards Heather specifically.

“I’ll advert the confession booth for a while.”

“That’s it!” You notice that Leshawna and Cody have both joined you in your run, the brown girl throwing her fist in the air. “Go, girl! You got it!”

You decide to slow down a little so you can let Trent and Gwen talk a little bit, also sending a flying kiss from afar to Courtney and Duncan behind.

“Hey, guys.” Cody points to another direction. “I know a shortcut. Let’s go at the finish line to greet Gwen.”

You smile at him. “Good idea!”

And so you and Leshawna follow him, hoping with all your heart that the goth girl will somehow win this whole thing.

* * *

You’ve decided to help Chris and Chef set up the big red finish line, since it would be a while before Gwen or Owen arrives. Geoff, Izzy and Lindsay are also standing in the wooden bleachers, the blond one stealing a pair of binoculars from the crazy girl and gasping in fear.

“Oh no! Gwen is winning! Our yach party is in jeopardy!”

“Yes!” You get a glare from the three teenagers, and you shrug. “I mean, no offense guys. I would to have a yacht party, but Gwen is still my friend.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Lindsay dismisses your apology with a smile. “This shows you’re a great person, (Y/N).”

“Dudes!” Geoff moves his arms around in panic. “We have to do something!”

“Wait! I have a plan!” Izzy looks around with her crazy eyes. “Has anyone seen a really big electric fan, here?”

“Sure!” Chris points to a general direction. “Got one in my trailer!”

You and Geoff both quirk an eyebrow at that response, the blond being the one to talk.

“You do?”

Chris rolls his eyes in annoyance and shows his hair.

“Do you think I get this wind blow look naturally?”

“Well, yeah.” You smile, chuckling. “It looks pretty natural on you.”

The man smiles wildly, like a dad being complimented by his daughter for the first time.

“Get the fan!” Izzy jumps down the bleachers. “And meet me back here!”

You all watch her run away towards the kitchen, blinking in silence.

* * *

You’re now sitting on the Gwen’s side of the bleachers right next to Leshawna, biting your nails in nervousness. But when you see the goth girl appear first on the horizon, you stand up with your gorgeous brown friend, both of you instantly cheering in excitement. Cody and Eva also stands up and smile brightly at the sight, the boy in particular jumping up and down while the girl simply smiles. You almost frown in confusion when you see Trent follow the goth girl with a giant rock in his hands, but you try to not think about that.

“There they are!” You give Chris’ voice a little attention, still focus on your blue-haired friend. “Two real competitors and if I may say, truly persona find spirits of the reject Olympic!”

“Let’s go, Gwen!” You try to scream as hard as you can so she can hear you. “You’re almost done!”

She sends you a quick thumbs up, then closes her eyes in pain as she continues to run. You notice that Trent is now way behind her and on the ground, pushing the rock the best he can. Owen is also crawling beside the guitar player, having difficulties to breathe. You feel bad for him at this moment, and you silently cheer a little for him too.

“Hot brownies coming through!”

Your eyes open wide when Izzy arrives with a fresh of delicious brownies, already knowing that her plan might work really well.

“Lindsay, the fan! _Now_!”

The blond girl press the button, not noticing that the fan is pointing in the wrong direction, which makes Heather’s wig fall of somewhere under the pressure.

“ _Aaah!_ ” The used to be black-haired girl feels her bald head, terrified. “My wig! Can’t you fools do anything right!?”

“Oh, _that’s it._ ” Leshawna rolls up her sleeves as she walks menacingly towards Heather. “I’ve had about enough of that girl!”

You gasp both in shock and excitement when the brown girl grabs the black-haired one, Heather screaming over and over until Leshawna throws her into the confessional booth and locks her in it. You can’t help but laugh out loud when she does that, forgetting to try and stop Lindsay from pressing the fan’s button again.

“ _Mooooove!_ ”

You scream in shock when Owen suddenly arrives running over with a lot of speed, pushing Gwen away when he passes her. You hide your mouth behind your hands, ignoring the erupted cheering from the supporting Owen team. But you can’t help but giggle when the big blond throws himself on Izzy to get faster on the brownies. Once the shock passes, you also starts to clap for him, happy for your friend.

“Wou-hou!” Owen grabs Ezequïel’s and Harold’s neck in joy. “I won! I won!”

You giggle and walk over to join Duncan and Courtney, the two of them already hugging you and kissing each side of your cheeks.

“Not too sad Gwen lost?”

“Nah.” You give Duncan a small smile. “He also deserved that prize. Plus, we’re going to have an awesome party!”

“ _Yeah!_ ” They both put one arm in the air, excited for that party Owen promised.

* * *

You’re all sitting and smiling like crazy at the last bonfire ceremony, both Chris and Chef facing you this time.

“Here we are! At the last bonfire ever! After eight brutal weeks, it is my pleasure to announce the winner of Total Drama Island!” Chris takes a small pause before pointing to the big blond guy. “Owen!”

You all cheer and scream for him as he takes the big check from Chef.

“Yeah, baby!” Owen turns to the host. “Hey, what can I say, Chris? I’m so psyched! This is just...”

“ _Awesome?_ ”

You giggle at the fact that everyone said the word at the same time, Owen opening his eyes wide with a crazy smile.

“Yes! Party next week everyone!”

You all cheer again, you in particular taking a hand from both your significant others to squeeze.

“Owen.” Chris takes out a marshmallow from his back. “At this time, I give you the ultimate symbol of survival. The final marshmallow.”

“I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life.” Owen takes a second before he laughs. “Whatever! I can buy all the marshmallows I want now!”

He then engulfs the whole marshmallow in one bite.

“Yo, Owen!” You turn your head back to see Geoff smirking. “You know what it’s time for?”

Duncan grins evil beside you while Owen nods at Geoff’s question. The big blond then sends the host an evil glare, which makes you wait in anticipation.

* * *

“No, no! No, guys!” You grin when you see the boys holding Chris in the air, all of them about to throw the host into the water. “My hair! Dudes!”

“ _One!”_ You and the others all cheer, Bridgette laughing beside you. _“Two! Three!_ ”

As soon as they throw Chris in the water, you all laugh, the host coming back up to spit out water with his hair all wet. Chef laughs louder, pointing at his friend with a bright smile.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all summer!” The ex-solder doesn’t seem to notice the boys now turning to him with evil smirks. “How do you like that, pretty boy? Ha!”

“Oh, Cheeeeeef...”

Chef gives Geoff a confused look, the expression turning to a panic one when Owen laughs.

“You’re next, dude!”

The man screams and runs away, Geoff, Duncan, Owen and DJ all following him close behind while you and everyone else cheer for Chef getting thrown into the water. You laugh out loud a lot, not having feel this happy for a very long time, and your laugh turns to a giggle when Courtney holds your hand and kisses your cheek.

“Now that all of this is over, we can finally spend real quality time together.”

You smile brightly at that. “I can’t wait.”

You let her kiss you with passion that night, a little love thought send to Duncan chasing Chef around camp.


	28. Total Drama Island Special: TOTAL Drama Drama Drama ISLAND

**Total Drama Island Special – TOTAL Drama Drama Drama ISLAND**

“ _Awesome party, dudes!_ ”

You look up from your phone to see Owen dancing around while holding his giant check, Izzy dancing beside him with as much happiness. You smile when Tyler comes running to throw the frisbee at the other side of the pool, Cody catching it right beside you, Gwen, Trent, and a standing DJ.

“Alright! No more challenges or alliances!” Cody smiles brightly at everyone. “We can finally just hang!”

You chuckle when he throws the frisbee back and falls unto the pool, deciding to look back down on your phone to read your friends and family’s text messages.

**Friend A** : (Y/N), we miss you so much!

**Friend B** : You scored, girl! Two lovers? Yaaaas!

**Mom** : Hi, sweetie! Your dad and I are so proud of you!

**Dad** : You’re not gonna stay with these two teenagers, huh? I’m not sure they’re really right for you.

**Big brother** : Looks like you got it rough, lil’ sister. Can’t wait to see you come home.

**Sister Number One** : OMG! I miss you so much! I can’t wait to tell you all the secrets you’ve missed on the show!

You smile sweetly at all of those. God, you miss them so much. You can’t wait to make Duncan and Courtney meet them all!

**And you can’t wait to confront them about those memories you have.**

Your thoughts get interrupted by the most intense burp in the whole, Izzy’s disgustingness managing to push Lindsay and Beth all the way across the pool.

“Wow.” You turn your head at the two girls, worried in your face. “Are you girls alright?”

Beth smiles brightly at you. “We’re fine, (Y/N)!”

“Thanks for worrying, though!”

Lindsay stands up and walks by you to go back to her last spot, Beth following her from the pool itself. You think about maybe joining them and chat about some drama that happened outside of the show, but Leshawna arrives and sit between you and Gwen.

“Hey, Leshawna!” You put your phone back into your jacket’s pocket, giving the girl a fist bump. “Where were you?”

“Breaking some ground with Harold.” You quirk an eyebrow, not sure to understand. “I had to tell him we were moving too fast.”

“Oh, he must be crushed.”

“Actually, no!” She puts her hands up in the air. “He said he’ll win me over no matter what!”

You snort. “Wait, what?”

“I’m telling ya!” She shakes her head, not quite believing herself. “This boy’s got some nerve.”

Gwen’s chuckle stops your conversation, good memories coming into her head.

“I think the best thing about playing this stupid game was meeting the three of you.”

You smile warmly at her. “I’m glad I met you too, Gwen.”

Trent holds his girlfriend’s hand. “I feel the same way.”

Leshawna nods. “No doubt!”

“I can’t wait for you to meet my buds back home!” Gwen gets out a couple of pictures from behind her, then shows them to you all. “This is Marilyn, Pixie Corps, and Reaper!”

Leshawna and Trent share a horrified look when seeing her scary-looking friends, but you giggle and give out a wild smile.

“They look so cool!”

Gwen’s eyes light up at your words. “I know, right? I hope Owen will let us invite our own friends to the party, so we can all meet and create a whole big group!”

“Oh yeah! I would love for you guys to meet my own friends!”

The rest of your thought gets interrupted by Cody coming back to throw the frisbee, your eyes following it to see Tyler get hit in the face and then fall into the pool.

“Oh no.”

“Awn, look!” Lindsay doesn’t seem to notice her boyfriend drowning right in front of her. “Mandy’s prepping a welcome home party for me!”

Beth gasps. “ _Lucky!_ ”

“And pretty boys will be there!”

“Will someone _please_ just go save Tyler!?”

As soon as you say this, DJ rips away his shirt and throws himself into the pool, only to have Tyler take him out of it instead and try to bring him back to life. It’s at that point that you see Noah trying to walk away from Harold, the ginger-haired boy following him with and talking to him about a book in his hands.

“And that’s why beavers shouldn’t be considered members of the vermin family.” Noah puts his hands on his ears, Harold ignoring it with a bright smile. “Their skeletal structures are like totally different from rats!”

Noah shares a look with you and mouth the words “help me”. You chuckle and nod, walking over to him and Harold.

“I mean, just look at their teeth!”

“Very interesting stuff, Harold.” You smile at the boy, Noah sighing in relief upon your arrival. “Where did you get that book?”

“That’s my journal! I’ve made a bunch of different drawings of beavers and rats.” Harold smiles back at you, then turn his attention back on Noah. “I can lend it to you… if you promise not to get food on it and stuff.”

Noah shakes his head in disgust. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

“Actually, Harold...” You give out a shy smile. “Is it okay if I steal Noah from you? Bridgette’s kind of busy with Geoff right now and I need best friend advice.”

“I’m not your best friend.”

“That’s right. You’re my second best friend.”

“I’m not-”

“Alright, if you want to stay with Harold this much-”

“No, wait!” He grabs your wrist in panic, smiling nervously. “I’ll be your second best friend! Sorry, Harold! Duty called!”

He instantly drags you away without hearing the ginger-haired boy’s reply, and as soon as he finally stops and takes control back on his breathing, you laugh out loud.

“Hey!” He points at you meaningly. “Stop laughing, dummy!”

Your laughter calms down, but you still chuckle. “You’re welcome...”

He shakes his head. “Alright, thanks. Now go, I wanna read alone.”

“Still grumpy, I see.”

“I’m not grumpy!”

You just giggle as you walk away, gasping when someone grabs you by the arm and pull you on the dance floor.

“Hey, babe! Dance with me!”

You grin when you see Duncan dance around like a Buffon, then starts to join him while laughing. Courtney groans and rolls her eyes in annoyance.

“Ew! Duncan, stop it!”

“No, don’t!” You chuckle again, hiding your mouth behind your hands while you move around a little. “This is so much fun!”

“(Y/N) likes my dance moves.” You laugh out loud when he does a stupid move, the boy grinning back at you. “Besides, why so uptight, hot stuff? What happened to that crazy chick who helped me raid the camp kitchen?”

“Yeah, sweetie.” You move your eyebrows up and down, doing a wave move at the same time. “Where’s your fun side?”

“Ugh, I’m _over_ this stupid show!” She crosses her arms on her chest. “I’ve lost the competition, my pathetic lawyer lost my lawsuit and now, I just wanna go home, study for my L.S.A.T.’s and work my class president campaign!”

“ _Damn._ ” You stop dancing to give her a surprised look. “That’s a lot of work you wanna do.”

“And wow.” Duncan rolls his eyes. “Hello, downer! Come on, relax! It’s almost over. I thought you’d be happy.”

“ _I_ _ **am**_ _happy!_ ”

You and Duncan share a long look, not sure she’s really happy.

“I am!”

“If you say so...” Your eyes suddenly go wide. “Wait, is that Chris?”

Your words make everyone turn around to see the host walking towards the group while holding a heavy suitcase, Chef stopping his role of barbecuing to takes the giant check from Owen’s arms. Both of them then continue walking to stop beside you, Courtney, and Duncan, your two lovers sending them a hard look while you smile brightly at them.

“ _Hello, campers!_ ”

Chris puts the suitcase down, and Duncan laughs ironically.

“That’s ex-campers to you!”

“Yeah!” You jump up at Heather’s voice, turning your head back to see her standing a few meters away. “Your twisted game is over, remember?”

Chris turns back at Chef to whisper. “ _We’ll see about that..._ ”

They then both laugh evilly, and you take the opportunity to wave at them.

“Hi, Chris! How are you?”

“Hey, (Y/N)! I’m great, thanks for asking! How are you?”

“ _Oh my god._ ” Courtney gives out a death glare. “Will you just say why you’re here?”

“Congratulations to our winner!” Chris turns his head to the big blond. “Owen, you played hard! Fight hard, ate hard and farted harder! Not sure why, but you beat every other person on this island, and your pockets will soon be stuffed with cheddar!”

You all instantly cheer for the big guy, Owen giving you all a bright smile as he walks over. When he finally stands beside Chris, the host points at him with his own usual smile.

“But what I’m about to offer you might change all that!” He points at the suitcase, now holding safely between Chef’s hands. “Inside this suitcase is one… million… _dollars!”_

You gasp, your eyes going wide.

“A… million… dollars?”

_That’s all I’ve wanted since the beginning!_

“We had our PA’s make a cardboard check of this awesome new prize!” You feel yourself shrink down when you see a check of the size of a building arriving, his shadow looking down on all of you. “ _We went through a lot of cardboard to make this!_ ”

“Yeah...” Your eyes can get away from the check. “We can see that.”

“Owen, my man...” Chris puts his hand on the big blond’s shoulder. “This million dollars could be yours… All you have to do is figure out where we’re about to hide it and bring it to the dock of shame before anyone else does!”

“You’re telling us that we all have a chance to win a million dollars?”

Chris’ smile stretches out at Gwen’s question.

“Yep!” He turns back at the blond. “What do you say, Owen? Will you settle for a hundred g’s…? Or… _One! Million! Dollaaaaaars!_ ”

The blond looks around in panic, sweat coming off his forehead as he starts to tremble.

_Come on, say yes… say yes!_

“ _Come on, baby!_ ” Owen jumps in the air, smiling like crazy. “ _Hahaha! Yeah!_ ”

Chris gives Chef a look and the ex-soldier rips the small check apart.

“That’s the spirit, Owen!” An intern walks over to take the suitcase, then leaves with it to go hide it. “I’ll give you all hints from the loudspeakers just to make sure you’re not completely lost.”

* * *

Courtney gives the camera a smirk.

“Okay… this just got interesting again."

* * *

“Finally! A prize that I actually want!” You grin turns to an evil one. “I was in the final four without spending much effort, imagine what will happen now that I’m determined to get it.”

* * *

“Alright, campers! The ultimate million dollar challenge starts...” Chris gets out a fake gun from his back, Owen, and Chef stepping back in fear. “… _now!_ ”

He shoots something in the air, a seagull falling down and crashing unto the floor right after.

“ _Wou-hou!_ ” Owen instantly runs for the prize. “ _Here I come, million dollars!_ ”

“ _Let’s go, boy!_ ” You run after Owen towards the island with a huge smile, taking everyone else by surprise. “ _I’m gonna get that prize by force if I have to!_ ”

You feel a hand try to grab your clothes and stop you from running, but you’re so fast that you’re already on the dock of shame, Owen a little bit behind you. You're quite surprised to not hear everyone else running over in huge determination, but who cares? More chances for you to get that prize.

Chris giggles when he sees you run and turns to the rest of the participants, expecting them to do the same as you and Owen, only to see them looking back at him with deadly stares.

“Let me get this straight.” Bald Heather walks over to the two psychopathic adults. “After messing with our heads for an entire summer, you expect us to start running around the island like idiots all over again?”

Chris gives out a smile. “That’s right.”

Leshawna crosses her arms over her chest and squints her eyes.

“But how do we know you didn’t stuff that suitcase with bricks or something?”

“You don’t.”

“I’d love to play another round of humiliating the teens...” Noah picks up a marshmallow, his bored expression always present on his face. “But I’ve got a buffet to eat.”

Just as he finishes to say that, everyone walks over the buffet and start to eat, none of them interested in winning the million dollars.

“Fine! Suit yourselves!” Chris puts his arms behind his back, a knowing smile on his lips. “I’m sure Owen and (Y/N) would be happy to have _no_ competition… while one of them makes the easiest million dollars in TV history.”

Gwen’s lips quiver in anger. “ _Fine!_ ”

“Fine!”

“Yeah, right.”

There’s a long silence where everyone keeps staring back at Chris with a hard look, the host just waiting with a smile, until your voice and Owen’s can be heard from afar.

“ _Oh, right! I’m gonna be rich! Ahahahahahahaha!_ ”

“ _If someone’s gonna be rich, boy, it’s me! Get out of my way!_ ”

“ _Hahahahahahah!_ ”

Hearing Owen laughs so happily makes everybody’s skin crawl and their blood boil, and next thing you know, you hear the sound of a flock of elephants catching up to you. You turn your head behind you and gasp when you see everyone about to crash into you and Owen, so you step aside just in time to see all of them fall into each other and getting trapped with themselves. You watch everyone try to get out without any success, a chuckle escaping your lips as you walk past them until you hear Chef whistle and everyone stays silent.

“Hey! I’ve got an idea!” Beth smiles wildly from the top of the pile. “Let’s work together as a team! We can split the prize twenty-two ways and share it!”

_That… is such a sweet idea… but no._

Just when everyone starts to bicker again, you spot your girlfriend having difficulties to break out her leg, so you go help her. As soon as she gets out, she kisses you passionately, taking your breath away.

“Wow, um-” You don’t have time to say anything else that she kisses you again.

“Thanks, love! Now… _Let’s get that million dollars!_ ”

You frown in confusion. “Wait, but what about Duncan?”

She groans slightly, making you quirk an eyebrow at her, but she eventually smiles and turns back towards the pile. That’s when you see the punk boy desperately trying to get out of it, his arm stretched out at maximum while the rest of his body is being crushed. You gasp in worry and immediately grab his hand, trying to pull him out of the pile. Courtney sighs at the sight then helps you a little reluctantly. When the boy’s finally up and standing, you put your hands on each side of his face.

“Duncan, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, babe.” He grins, quite happy that you’re worried about him. “Thanks for helping me out of this mess.”

Courtney suddenly screams, putting her fists up in the air.

“ _Now let’s g get that million dollars! Yes!_ ”

She grabs Duncan by his shirt and gives him a kiss similar to the ones she gave you a few minutes ago, her eyes full of determination and craziness. Duncan smiles wildly in surprise, and you can’t help but giggle at the situation.

“Well, looks like someone got their mojo back.”

“Fun Courtney’s out!” You share a grin with your boyfriend. “This is going to be a great day!”

The brown-haired girl rolls her eyes with a smile.

“Shut up, and follow me!” She takes your arm and one of Duncan’s, pulling the both of you towards a random path. “We’ve got a suitcase to find!”

“Sir! Yes, sir!”

You laugh out loud as she lets go of you two, Duncan taking the opportunity to put his own around your shoulders and kissing your temple.

“Can I come too?”

Duncan glares meaningfully behind him and doesn’t say anything, but you slightly turn your head back to give out a small smile to Harold. You’re about to politely say no to him when Courtney turns around sharply and puts her hands on her hips.

“ _No!_ ” She almost snarls, Harold looking down in shame. “You’ll slow us down!”

Seeing Harold being so sad almost makes you want to invite him out of pity, but he did kick out your girlfriend behind everyone’s back….

So really, this is just karma for him.

* * *

“What a doofus!” Duncan rolls his eyes at the camera. “That million is about to be in (Y/N)’s and my pockets!”

The punk takes a moment to think, suddenly confused.

“Or in a shared duffel bag… I’m not really sure how much space a million dollars takes up.”

* * *

You, Courtney, and Duncan have been walking around for a while now, looking from the right to the left to see if you can spot a suitcase somewhere, but to no avail. You’ve seen the different formed teams though, and you have to say, some of them surprises you.

First, you have Gwen, Leshawna, and Trent, which is something you were kind of expecting, so it’s no surprise at all.

Second, you have Bridgette and Geoff, who will probably spend the whole time kissing, so it’s not a surprise either.

You also have Owen, DJ, Cody, and Tyler forming an only guys team, which you were kind of expecting.

But then, you have Noah, Eva, and Izzy, a trio that you never thought you would see.

Or you have Lindsay and Beth, which is a normal team, but who are also working with Ezequïel, the misogynist homeschooled boy.

Then you have Heather and… Harold? Man, she is desperate, isn’t she?

As for Justin, he decided to paired up with Katie and Sadie, his two number one fans. You’re not sure if they’ll be able to find the suitcase at all, but oh well. Who cares?

Needless to say, you already know that none of you had even spotted the suitcase or find a clue, and it has been two hours. How do you know? Well, a certain psychopathic host was just telling you all about it.

“ _Okay, this is pathetic campers._ ” You cringe when you hear Chris’ voice around the island. “ _It has been two hours now and no one has even come close to finding the suitcase! So here’s your first clue… it’s just… hanging around!_ ”

“Hanging around?” Duncan squints his eyes at the sky. “What kind of bullshit clue is this?”

“Give better clues, Chris!” Courtney puts her fist up in the air, getting angrier by the second. “How are we suppose to find the suitcase with this?”

“Hanging around… hanging around… hanging….” Your eyes go wide when you understand. “Guys, keep your eyes up! The suitcase is hanging from a tree!”

Courtney gasps and instantly start to look up, Duncan turning back to you to give you a smirk.

“Look at you, all cute and smart.” You feel your face heat up when he pinches your cheek, and you avert your eyes in embarrassment. “I’m gonna keep you forever.”

“Guys, hurry!” Courtney suddenly grabs one of your arms and starts running. “We have to find the suitcase before the others!”

“Hey, slow down, princess!” Duncan manages to follow you two, a little bit pissed off. “No one has found it yet!”

“We can’t slack off!”

“Hey, is that Noah and Eva over there?”

Your question makes Courtney’s eyes go wide. “Let’s see if they have the suitcase!”

You hear Duncan having difficulties to breathe behind you.

“Courtney… Maybe we should slow down a little?”

“ _No!_ ” She turns her head a little to send the punk guy a hard look. “Duncan…!”

Just as she stops in front of Noah and Eva, also releasing your arm, your boyfriend arrives almost out of breath, and you instantly cup his cheek with your hand to look into his eyes.

“Fun Courtney isn’t that fun, huh?”

He chuckles at your words, but he gets interrupted by Izzy’s voice from up in the trees.

“ _I think I see it!_ ”

Courtney gasps. “She sees the suitcase! We can’t let her have it!”

Izzy suddenly passe on a vine while screaming like Tarzan, and your girlfriend takes the opportunity to grab the vine and climb up towards the red-haired girl.

“Courtney!” You grab your head in panic. “Be careful!”

Just as you say that Courtney takes hold of Izzy and starts to fight her in the air.

“ _Yeah!_ ” Duncan puts his fist in the air, a huge grin on his face. “That’s our girl!”

You close your eyes for a second when Courtney punches Izzy in the face, the two girls keeping passing by in front of you because of the vine.

“I hope she doesn’t fall...”

“She’ll be fine, babe.” Duncan puts his arm around your shoulders and shakes you a little. “Our princess' a fighter, she’ll get what she wants.”

“Yeah, but-”

“I saw her tear down a street light and attack Harold with it.” Noah’s voice gets your attention, the president-boy giving you a boring look. “She’ll be fine.”

The punk glares at Noah. “Who said you could talk to my girlfriend?”

“Jeez, calm down, dude.” Eva quirks an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Noah’s her friend.”

“Yeah, I’ve been forced to be.” The president-boy also crosses his arms over his chest. “What’s up with the attitude anyway?”

“What’s up is that we were having a conversation and you’ve interrupted it.”

“Really? You’re gonna get all worked up because of that?”

“Hey, you better shut up or I’ll kick your ass.”

“ _Oooh_ , I’m _so_ scared.”

“That’s it-”

“Duncan! Babe, babe… babe!” You stop your boyfriend from jumping on Noah and pull him a little far away from the unexpected little team. “Duncan, look at me.”

“That little shit keeps trying to fuck with me!”

“I know, but babe, look at me.” The punk boy looks right into your eyes, and you give out a sweet smile. “Duncan…?”

“What?”

Your smile stretches out. “I love you.”

Your words seem to make him calm down a little, the anger slowly dissipating from his eyes.

“… yeah?”

You giggle at his reaction, already knowing that he needs reassurance.

“Even more every day.”

He grins happily, taking your hand in his. “… I love you too.”

“Great!” You give his lips a quick peck before you intertwine your fingers within his. “Now, let’s try not to kill my friends, okay?”

He groans and rolls his eyes in annoyance, understanding that you’ve just manipulated him, but he eventually nods. You thank him by giving his cheek a kiss, the boy instantly grinning back and starting to give your face a couple of kisses. You laugh under his actions, trying to free yourself eventually, but he doesn’t stop until he traps your lips within his to give you a passionate kiss. Your face heats up and, when he parts away, his grin turns to a smirk.

“I love that I still have that impact on you.”

You breathe in a little sharply due to embarrassment and you slightly push him away, making the boy laugh.

“Shut up! Stop laughing!”

“Awn, but you’re so cute!”

Just when he says that Courtney jumps down from the vine, letting out a frustrated sigh. Both you and Duncan stare at her in silence, waiting for her to talk, but she only rolls her eyes.

“There’s no suitcase anywhere. The girl’s just crazy.”

Duncan grins. “You were still awesome, babe.”

She cracks a proud smile but soon loses it.

“What are you guys waiting for? Let’s go! Go, go, _go!_ ”

You and Duncan don’t wait to follow her deeper into the forest, secretly wishing for Fun Courtney to come out.

* * *

You duck in time to evade an object Courtney had just thrown.

“Woah! Sweetie, be careful!”

“Huh?” She looks back from the pile of junk and gives you an apologetic smile. “Oops… sorry, honey!”

You shake your head with a smile, crossing your arms over your chest as you watch her keep looking for something in the fisherman’s cabin. Duncan steps back from the cabinets he was rummaging into, quirking an eyebrow at the brown-haired girl.

“What are we looking for, exactly?”

“Anything that could help us find that suitcase before the others?”

“And that is…?”

“I don’t know! Just keep looking!”

Duncan rolls his eyes and gets out a fishing rod, looking back at you with a grin.

“How many fishes do you think I can catch with this?”

“I don’t know.” You grin when he walks closer to you, almost chuckling again. “Do you have any fishing skills?”

“I’d say I’m pretty good….” His grin stretches out as he lowers his head towards yours, his voice lowing to a whisper. “I did catch the pretty one right here.”

Your breath gets caught in your throat. “What… are you saying that I’m a fish?”

“If you were, you’d be the most gorgeous one.”

“Will you guys stop flirting and help me!?”

“ _Attention, campers!_ ” Chris’ voice stops you from talking back to your girlfriend, all of you tensing up. “ _The case is wet! Repeat, the case is wet!_ ”

Courtney’s the first one out of the cabin. “The water!”

You and Duncan try your best to follow her towards the beach, your boyfriend still holding the fishing rod. As soon as you arrive at the location, you see Lindsay holding the case from the other side, screaming in happiness. Duncan doesn’t wait to retrieve it from her hands by using the fishing rod, the boy trying his best to reel it back.

“Come on! Put some muscles into it!” Courtney tightens her fist, her voice getting angrier by the second. “Spin that reel!”

“ _Can it, sister!_ ” Duncan turns his head to give her a sharp look. “ _I’m reeling as fast as I can!_ ”

The suitcase arrives beside you three just when he finishes it and you squeal in delight.

“We have the suitcase!”

Well, you shouldn’t have talked, cause now an alligator comes and bites it off before going into the water, the fishing rod’s rope hitting Duncan in the face.

“ _Hey!_ ” Courtney snarls in anger. “That alligator just took our briefcase!”

Duncan keeps his eyes shut in pain. “What are alligators doing in here!?”

* * *

Somewhere else, Chris and Chef are watching everything on TV while eating chips.

“Alligators were your idea?” Chef nods at the host’s question, the man then laughing. “Good one!”

* * *

You crawl down beside Duncan, then help him stand back up.

“Babe, are you okay?”

The punk blinks a couple of times, then smiles at you.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You gotta stop worrying about me, babe.”

“Well, if you’re fine, don’t just stand there!” Courtney puts her hands on her hips, anger flames almost getting out of her ears. “ _Go get it!_ ”

You don’t have time to react that Duncan’s already jumping into the water, the boy then being shown holding the alligator while the creature swims around in frustration. Lindsay, Beth, and Ezequïel run away screaming when they both come for them, the punk eventually starting to fight with the alligator. You gasp in fear when you see your boyfriend going underwater over and over again, all kind of bad scenarios coming into your head. Courtney only chuckles evilly beside you, mumbling things like “come on, just get it” or “we’re almost, don’t blow this up!”. You close your eyes in fear when you see him about to get eating by the creature, not wanting to see this.

“ _Come on..._ ” You open your eyes again to see Duncan having the upper hand and hitting the alligator. “ _Just give it up…!_ ”

The creature eventually spits the suitcase out, the million dollars landing on the beach right in front of you and Courtney.

“ _Yeah!_ ” You look back at Duncan to see him grinning like a maniac. “ _That’s how we roll in my neighborhood!_ ”

You can’t help but giggle at that, your girlfriend picking up the briefcase with a wide smile on her face. She takes a long moment to take in the sight of it in her hands, almost not believing it, which gives enough time to your boyfriend to arrive without getting eaten by the alligator.

“Oh! You did it!” Courtney finally speaks once Duncan arrives, her smile still present on her face as she hugs him. “My hero!”

She then frees him to walk on the path towards the dock of shame, letting you jump in his arms and kiss his cheek.

“You’re the best, babe!”

“Meh, I’ve had tougher girlfriends than him...” He grins when you free him, starting to walk beside you. “And prettier, too.”

You chuckle at his attempt to flirt with you, shaking your head when he starts to move his eyebrows up and down. You take a look at Courtney in front of you, the girl being too preoccupied with the suitcase than the flirting in her back. You’re about to call out for her when Duncan screams, falling unto the ground and holding his ankle.

“Ha, my ankle!” Your eyes go wide and Courtney turns around with a worried expression. “I think I sprained it...”

He hisses in pain and you crawl down beside him, not sure what to do.

“Duncan...” Courtney walks back, worry in her voice. “Are you okay?”

“N-no, I don’t think I can walk on it...” He looks back at you and the brown-haired girl, huge pain being written on his whole expression. “I think you’re gonna have to help me...”

You’re about to take his hand to help him stand back up when Courtney holds you back, a smile on her lips.

“Well… you know you mean the world to me...” She pats Duncan’s head, the boy giving her a confused look. “But I can’t let you hold me and (Y/N) back. Sorry!”

She then proceeds to drag you with her, yourself being too in shock to properly react.

“ _Wait!_ ” Duncan’s eyes go wide, panic starting to show. “You’re leaving me here? I just wrestle an alligator for us!”

“I know!” Courtney grins, starting to run with you by her side. “But opportunities like this don’t just fall out of-”

“Courtney, no!” You yank your hand away from her, finally getting your senses back. “We’re not abandoning him!”

“(Y/N)...” She frowns in confusion, not understanding your reaction. “We can’t take him! You know he’s gonna slow us down! Why are you taking it so bad?”

“He’s our boyfriend! Are you crazy?”

“(Y/N), I know you’re very sentimental, but now is not the time. So if you could just trust me on this...”

“No!” You walk back towards Duncan, ignoring her stare. “I’m going back for him.”

“Fine!” She stomps her foot on the ground, almost grinding her teeth. “But don’t cry to me when I win the million dollars and you don’t!”

“That’s fine by me!”

“Well… Fine!”

“Fine!”

She groans in anger when you continue to walk away from her, then eventually continues to run towards the dock of shame. The punk guy smiles when he sees you walk back from afar, his shoulders relaxing.

“So...” Noah’s voice makes him tense up, the punk looking back to see the president-boy giving him a smirk while Eva runs past him. “Your girlfriends turned on you, huh? Hate to see that happen. Bet you feel like a loser about now, huh? Less of a man?”

“ **Enough of a man to take your head off, geek!** ”

* * *

When Noah runs past you without his pants while screaming, you can’t help but wonder what happened to him. But when you see the famous pants between Duncan’s hands a few seconds later, you can’t help but laugh.

“I knew you had something to do with a Noah running and screaming without pants.”

Duncan’s grin stretches out when he hears your voice, the boy looking up at you with a proud expression.

“He was looking for it.”

You giggle. “Thanks for not killing him, babe.”

“Yeah, well… don’t thank me yet.” You gasp when he grabs your wrist and pulls down with him, trapping you in his arms. “ _ **This is for abandoning me.**_ ”

You laugh uncontrollably when he starts tickling you.

“N-no, please! P-please, d-don’t-”

“Nah-huh. I decide when the punishment’s done.”

“D-Duncan, please…! Hahaha! S-stop!”

“ _ **Fine.**_ ” He finally stops and you try to catch your breath, barely breathing in some air before he turns your head towards him. “This is for coming back.”

Your face heats up again when he kisses you and your heart jumps when he holds you closer. You throw your arms around his neck and your legs around his back, letting the moment embrace you as you let his tongue have access to your mouth. You feel him smirk when he hears you moan under his touch, his hands slowly moving down on your back and sending a shiver down your spine. Your fingers grab a hold of his hair, this time making him moan and you smirk.

“Ow...” Courtney’s voice makes the two of you stop to look back at her, the brown-haired girl looking like she just got hit in the head. “… which way did they go…?”

“Who?” Your question makes her shake her head, the girl then frowning in frustration when she sees what you were doing.

“The crazy girl and her teammates. She stole my briefcase, though didn’t see that, did you?”

“Oh, I don’t know, _honey._ ” Duncan’s grin turns to an evil one. “Let me think.”

Courtney’s about to retort something when she gets cut off Eva’s voice.

“ _Hurry up!_ ”

“ _ **Hey! Get back here!**_ ” Courtney turns back with a determined look on her face, anger floating around her like an aura. “ _ **No one the money that I stole!**_ ”

She then runs towards where she heard the voice, you and Duncan looking at her disappear in the horizon. That’s when the punk guy snorts, making you look back at him.

“I love that woman.”

You smile, happy to see that he doesn’t seem to hold any bad grudges against her. He turns his head back at you, his blue eyes letting out a certain sweetness.

“And I love you.” You only giggle when he kisses your nose, the boy then grinning. “Now, where were we?”

You can’t help the smile widening when he kisses you again, the two of you falling back unto the sand.

* * *

As for Courtney, she was still chasing the weird formed trio around the woods, the brown-haired girl losing them for a second and instead slams herself on an invisible wall.

“Ow!” She opens her eyes to look at the forest in front of her, squinting in confusion. “What…”

She winces in pain when she hears the singing of the birds too close to her ears.

“Will you please shut up!?” She moves her hand around, making the birds fly away before she stands up and knocks on the wall. “This forest isn’t even _real!?_ ”

She steps back, looking up at the only camera present.

“ _ **Chris! Come out here, right now! I mean it!**_ ”

* * *

“Wow, she looks really peeved...” He hands the remote control up. “Think I’ll just turn this down a bit.”

The TV goes silent when he presses the mute button, looking back at Chef with a grin.

“That’s better.” He shows a plate of paté with a knife in it. “More paté?”

Chef grins back. “Don’t mind if I do!”

* * *

“ _Attention, campers! The case is now somewhere beautiful… and heading towards camp!_ ”

You and Duncan look up towards the sky, the boy quirking an eyebrow at Chris’ voice.

“What is beautiful and could be heading towards camp?”

You gasp, turning your head towards him. “It’s Justin!”

His face turns to a jealous one. “You think Justin’s beautiful?”

“I prefer handsome guys like you.” You kiss his cheek, your words making him grin. “Camp is kind of far, I don’t think we can make it in time.”

“Wait, let me check if...” He makes you stop carrying him, the punk testing his ankle. “Hell yeah! I think I can walk now!”

“Great!” Your lips spread into a wide smile. “Let’s go, then!”

The two of you start to run towards camp, secretly hoping that you can get your hands on that suitcase in time.

* * *

Courtney throws a vine towards the camera on the top of the wall, then starts to climb it with even more determination in her veins. Chris pits out his cocktail when he sees her, giving Chef a panic look.

“Chef, you better get out there!”

The ex-soldier nods and runs towards his four-wheel, hopping on it and driving at max speed towards where Courtney is. But the brown-haired girl has already climbed the whole wall, the ex-CIT gasping in shock upon seeing a fast-food drive-thru.

“No way! We were this close to civilization all along!?”

“ _Can I take your order?_ ”

“Yes! Yes, you can take _my_ order!” Courtney talks before the client in the car can open his mouth. “We’re starving over here- _ow!_ ”

She looks up to see a cameraman up in an air balloon, the intern having dropped a boom on her head.

“Oh, come on!” She gives him a hard look, grabbing the boom and proceeding to pull it down with her force. “Get down here, you!

“Uh, Chris?” The intern talks into a walkie-talkie, a terrified look on his face as the air-balloon gets closer to the brown-haired girl. “W-we have a s-situation here!”

“ _Bailed! Bailed!_ ” Chris’ voice pushes the intern to jump down from the balloon just when Courtney climbs him, a pissed off expression on her face. “ _Advert! Advert!_ ”

“Alright!” She takes a hold of the heat control, an evil grin spreading on her lips. “Now we’ll see who’s the boss around here!”

She pulls the control and gets up in the air, letting herself fly around the forest to try and spot the suitcase easier. She continues like this for a couple of minutes, the team of guys only suddenly falling down beside her as she flies up a cliff. She grins proudly when she sees Owen’s ankle stuck in the boom and the rest of the guys attached to him with a rope, the suitcase safely secured in the blond’s left hand.

“ _My ankle can’t hold on much longer!_ ”

“ _Courtney!_ ” Cody gives the brown-haired girl a scared look. “ _Save us! Pull us up!_ ”

“Give me the case and I will!”

Tyler squints his eyes at her. “ _No way!_ ”

“Okay, then!”

Her smile stretches out as she pulls more on the heather control, the balloon getting higher and higher. The guys scream as she does so, the girl noticing a bear at the top of the cliff they just fall off of.

“You wouldn’t let us fall to our death…!”

She only laughs at DJ’s words. “Oh _yes_ , I would! I don’t even like you very much!”

“Guys, I...” Cody trembles in fear. “I think we should offer to split it with her.”

Tyler screams and throws his arms in the air. “Neveeeer!”

“Don’t do it!” Owen smiles, looking up at the boom. “I can save us!”

Just as he says that he manages to grab the boom with his free hand, starting to climb it up while holding the suitcase in his mouth. When he finally grabs unto the air-balloon itself, he grins, the rest of the guys cheering for him while Courtney frowns in anger.

“Okay, guys… we’re safe for now...” DJ’s smile stretches out. “And we’re keeping the case!”

Courtney squints her eyes. “We’ll see about that!”

She pulls even more on the heat controller, laughing maniacally as she makes the guys go through a huge tree.

“ _Bear!_ ”

The screamed words make her look down to see that the boom has retrieved the famous bear the boys were running away from, the animal now climbing it up with rage.

“ _The case is almost at the campgrounds! Get your butts in gear, people! It’s a million big ones!_ ”

Courtney smiles again when she sees that they’re almost at camp, the guys trying to get in the hot-air-balloon while the bear climbs up fast.

“Hurry guys!” Owen screams when the bear scratches his butt. “ _Aaah!_ ”

As soon as they get in, Courtney takes hold of Cody’s neck, threatening to kill him.

“Um... Guys? Help- oh, _ow!_ ”

“ _ **Give it to me!**_ ” Courtney gives the rest of the guys a hard look. “I got us into the campgrounds! It’s _mine!_ ”

“No way, sister!”

“Try to take that case...” Tyler almost snarls at her. “… and I’ll mess you up!”

“Guys...” Cody’s almost at the verge of tears. “Maybe we could make out an arrangement-”

“ _ **NO!**_ ”

* * *

“ _Attention, campers! The case is still in play! Don’t give up now!_ ”

You and Duncan arrive at camp a few minutes later, both of you frowning in confusion as you see Bridgette, Geoff, Katie, and Sadie up on the massive diving board platform used for Courtney’s jello challenge.

“What the hell...” Duncan puts his hand beside his mouth, trying to make his voice heard by the other teenagers. “What are you guys doing up there!?”

The four teenagers stare back at you and the punk in silence, before pointing behind you two. You both turn around, only to have your faces turn white upon seeing an angry moose mom.

“Oh no.”

“ _Run!!_ ”

You and Duncan run towards the main lodge while screaming, the moose chasing you. You continue to run when you get inside, jumping behind a table to hide. You’re about to tell your boyfriend to do the same, when you see him take the head of a dead moose on the wall and running after the real one who just got in, the animal running away in fear. You stand up and walk out to see the punk continuing to run after the animal while making weird noises, worry still present in your thoughts.

“ _Wou-hou!_ ” You look up to see your girlfriend in a hot-air-balloon with the only guys' team, the girl currently holding Cody hostage. “ _Go, honey! Go!_ ”

“ _I’m coming for you next, **sweetheart!**_ ”

“ _Duncan!_ ” You hug yourself in fear. “ _Be careful!_ ”

He disappears into the forest, leaving you on the step of the main lodge. That’s when you hear a bunch of screaming, looking up at the sky just in time to see the guys' team jumping on the diving board platform, leaving Courtney in the air-balloon with the suitcase. You gasp in fear when you see the platform move around, being scared of your friends falling and dying, but it eventually stops and you sigh in relief.

“ _Ah-ha, suckers!_ ” Courtney shows the suitcase with an evil grin, unaware of the bear climbing inside the balloon behind her. “ _I’ll call you from my hot-tub phone at my new mansion in-_ ”

She gets cut off by the bear poking her head, and she turns around with an angry stare.

“ _ **What!?**_ ”

Her expression falls when she sees the bear, and she instead screams while jumping on top of the platform. She opens her eyes a few seconds later, then puts the suitcase way up in the air as she tries to push everyone away from her.

“ _Honey!_ ” You point at Leshawna having climbed up and now about to steal the suitcase. “ _Watch out!_ ”

You gasp when the briefcase suddenly falls down from the platform and rolls around towards camp, stopping right in front of the communal washrooms where Lindsay, Beth, and Ezequïel step out of. You blink your eyes a couple of times as you see the blond take it in her hands with a smile, not sure what to do. You’re about to run towards her, but you stop right at the bottom of the stairs when you hear the sound of a helicopter, making you look up to see Justin jumping off of it with a parachute.

* * *

“How the heck did he get the keys to the plane!?”

Chef hides Justin’s autograph behind him, giving out a smile.

“I don’t know.”

* * *

Justin winks at the camera, a huge grin on his face.

* * *

You can’t help but watch him land beside Lindsay, his parachute hiding Beth and Ezequïel. A crashing sound makes you look away from him though, the platform slowly falling down and making you scream in fear.

“ _Honey, no…!_ ”

You’re about to run to go help your girlfriend when the briefcase appears at your feet, Izzy having dropped it when she runs away after taking from Justin. You instantly take the suitcase in your hands, the thought of winning a million getting into your head.

“(Y/N) has it!” Gwen’s voice makes you look up to see that she and Trent are now running towards you. “Take it from her.”

You squint your eyes. “Oh, _hell no!_ ”

You immediately run towards the dock of shame, ignoring the screams of all your friends and the crashing sound of the platform unto the ground. You’re about to step on the dock of shame when you get pushed towards the water and the case escapes from your hands. You scream along with the rest of your fellow competitors, the water soon engulfing you.

_I still can’t swim!_

You try to let your head up in the air, but you keep getting underwater. You start to slightly choke, losing strength. God, how many times have you almost died drowning in this show?

“(Y/N)!”

You suddenly feel someone take a hold of you and you cough, grabbing their neck in an attempt to stay alive.

“I got you, okay?” You recognize your boyfriend’s voice, the punk securing your arms around him. “I won’t let you drown.”

You nod, eventually opening your eyes again to see the case getting eaten by a shark.

“Great!” Leshawna growls angrily. “Now what!”

You all look back towards the dock of shame to see Chris step down of the helicopter, the host then walking towards you with a disappointing face.

“So… you lost the case.” Chris puts his arms in the air, talking sarcastically. “Way to go! I didn’t wanna have to do this… but since none of the fifteen of you officially won… you all officially tie!”

That’s when you notice that only fifteen of you are in the water, the other eight campers running over the dock of shame.

“Which means...” Chris suddenly smiles, and you think you know what he’s going to say. “… that you will all have another shot at winning the million dollars!”

Everyone cheers around you while you simply grin happily, holding your boyfriend closer none only because you’re still scared you’ll drown, but also to celebrate.

“In season two!”

You all suddenly stop cheering.

* * *

Leshawna looks at the camera in shock.

“… did he just say season two?”

* * *

“Nuh-huh.” Heather shakes her head. “No way. I am not coming back here.”

* * *

“Season two?!” Lindsay smiles wildly. “Season two!? I’m gonna be _so_ much more famous than I thought!”

She loses her smile, thinking.

“I hope I’ll have a chance to get my roots done first.”

* * *

“Season two? What if I don’t wanna do season two?” You frown in confusion for a second, then your eyes go wide. “Oh, fuck, the fine print in the contract.”

* * *

“Oh, forget this!” Duncan shakes his head, a frustrated smile on his face. “I didn’t agree to season two!”

“Actually...” Your voice gets his attention. “… we all did.”

“(Y/N) is right!” Chris’ smile stretches out. “It’s called the fine print! Read it, live it, _looove_ _it!_ ”

“I _hate…!_ ” Gwen takes a small pause in her sentences, the rest of the campers finally arriving on the dock of shame. “… the fine print!”

“As for the rest of you!” Chris turns back towards the competitors, his arms back up in the air. “Your treasure hunt ends here! Along with all your hopes of ever winning any money off of being on this show! The good news though? You’ll be watching the action on season two from the sidelines!”

“ _ **What!?**_ ” Courtney’s face distorts into pure anger, and you hide half of your own behind Duncan’s neck. “Wait a minute! _I_ wanna be on season two!”

“Tut-tut-tut-tut!” Chris smiles evilly. “Fine print!”

* * *

“Oh, that is _it!_ ” Courtney glares at the camera. “If they thought they were in trouble before… they’re in _**huge**_ trouble now!”

* * *

“Another season?” Harold smiles wildly. “Sweet! Another chance to showcase my mad skills! Aye-yah! _Ow!_ ”

He laughs in pain, holding his arm.

“Oh, funny bone! Hahaha, that is funny…! Ow….”

* * *

“Yeaaah!” Katie holds Sadie’s hand. “We get to stay for another season!”

Sadie loses her smile. “Just to watch though.”

“That’s okay. We’d watch at home anyway.”

“Oh, yeah! That’s true!” Sadie regains her smile. “And we get to stay together!”

Both of them then proceeds to scream with delight.

* * *

“Yes, this is so awesome!” Izzy grins evilly. “Iscope is coming back!”

She then laughs maniacally, and you quirk an eyebrow at her.

“This is so exciting!” Beth looks at her friend Lindsay. “Lindsay, if you win and buy France, will you have me over?”

The blond smiles back. “For sure!”

You get your head closer to Duncan’s ear.

“We’re splitting the prize no matter which of us wins, right?”

He grins back and turns his head so he can kiss your cheek.

“You know it, babe.”

“In exactly two days…!” Chris’ voice gets all your attention back. “You will all report to a brand new location, for a whole new challenge _and_ the last one standing will receive… _One! Million! Dollars…!_ ”

He then points at a nearby camera.

“So don’t forget to tune in… to Total! Drama!” His grin gets wider. “Action!”

_Action, huh? Interesting…_

Winning a thousand dollars wasn’t interesting to you before, but a million? You bet your ass that you’re gonna do anything to try and get it. And you’ll still have one day home, right?

That gives you plenty of time to find out where those horrible memories come from.


	29. Total Drama Action - Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there. It's been a while.
> 
> Hope you like this chapter.

**Total Drama Action - Prologue:**

You’ve come back home last night, your whole family and your friends greeting you with tears and open arms. You weren’t expecting them to have thrown an amazing welcome party for you, especially since you were only staying home for one day before going back on the show, but it didn’t stop you from spending the night talking, dancing and laughing with the people you love. Most of the talking was about what happened on the show, but particularly on Duncan and Courtney. A lot happened, so you don’t blame them from asking you questions to fill the blanks (apparently, some events you lived were not shown, which doesn’t surprise you). You’ve tensed up when they started to ask about the secrets you, Duncan, Heather, Gwen and Owen shared (and your very glad that Chris wasn’t filming you when the five of you were talking about that), but before you get the chance to blurt out an excuse, one of your sisters saved you by changing the subject to your fandom.

She told you their reactions to everything that you said and did, but also explained how everyone keeps shipping you with any contestants. You found that weird, especially since you consider most of them friends and _only_ friends, but whatever. You can’t control them, can you?

Your sister was about to tell you about your haters (which is, along with the fact that you have fans, is another thing that you can’t quite process) when your dad says that it was rather late and that you needed sleep before going back on the show. So your friends left and your family took care of everything while you went to sleep, only for you to wake up the next day with the smell of fresh and clean clothes around the house. Your mom has probably been washing all your clothes most of the morning to be sure you have enough of them in the next season. You can’t help but smile at the thought. Now that you think about it, your mom has always been doing everything in her power to make sure you’ll be fine no matter the situation.

Unlike the woman in your visions.

Which reminds you that you have some research to do about your past, and right now might be the perfect time since everyone’s busy taking care of your things for next season. So you get up from the bed and tip-toed down the stairs, trying your best to not make any sound as you walk towards the bookshelves in the entrance hallway. You let your finger trail down different albums with your siblings’ names on them, until it stops on the one with “(Y/N)” on it and you take it out. When you open it it’s just like you remember it, an album full of pictures of you from when you were little to the age you are today. You smile at some of the pictures, the memories just flooding inside your mind.

“You’re feeling nostalgic?”

You jump up at the sound, only to see your oldest brother giving you a large grin. You smile back at him, chuckling at your own reaction.

“Yeah, I missed home a lot.”

He nods at you and walks closer to look at your album, his smiles growing when he sees a picture of you two on the swing set.

“We were inseparable back then, weren’t we?”

“Yeah, until you became a police officer and abandoned me.”

He gasps in shock. “Excuse me? I am still your beloved brother, police officer or not!”

You smirk at his reaction. “Yeah, yeah… of course, you are.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you.” You tilt your head when he smiles proudly. “A lot of my colleagues and bosses are apparently your boyfriend’s family.”

Your eyes go wide. “What?”

His grin stretches out. “Yep.”

You frown in confusion, having a hard time imagining Duncan coming from a family like that.

“Why didn’t he told me his whole family was police officers…?”

Your brother shrugs. “Well, you two were on a TV show. I’m pretty sure you didn’t tell him much about your own family either.”

“Yeah, you’re right...” You look back down at your album, turning the pages back and forth when you notice something. “Hey, Nate?”

“Hm?”

“Where are my baby pictures?”

He goes silent, and when you look back at him, you notice how his eyes are widening and his bottom lip quivering from nervousness.

“Nate?”

“I-I don’t know...” He laughs weirdly, taking a few steps back slowly. “That’s… that’s weird, right?”

“Nate-”

“Maybe they burned down in a fire.”

“There was no fire.”

“Or maybe we lost them when we moved.”

“We never moved.”

He gulps his saliva, looking away for a moment. “Well then… maybe...”

“Nate… what are you hiding?”

He sighs, then shakes his head. “Just… just go ask mom, okay?”

You don’t have time to say anything else that he’s already disappearing in another hallway, leaving you alone in front of the bookshelf. You slowly put your album back in it with millions of thoughts gravitating inside your head. You weren’t expecting a reaction like that, especially not one that seems to make all the visions of forgotten memories possibly true.

No, it can’t be true. It can’t… It can’t-

“Mom?” You enter the kitchen expecting to see the woman who raised you, only to see your dad reading his daily newspaper at the table. “Oh-sorry, dad.”

“It’s fine, sweetheart.” He gives out a smile before going back to his journal. “Your mom is in the laundry room.”

You stare at him for a few seconds, hesitant to ask what you want.

“Hey, dad?” He looks back up at you just when you sit down in front of him. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.” You let out a small chuckle, your dad closing the newspaper and taking his reading glasses away. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“I’ve noticed that…” You take a breath before letting it all out. “I don’t have baby pictures.”

He stays silent, letting you continue.

“And when I asked Nate about it, he kind of freaked out.”

He understands where you’re going and he kind of freezes. “Oh.”

“Dad, am I… am I adopted?”

He sighs. “I should go get your mother for this.”

Your world crashes down.

“So it’s true.”

“Sweetheart, it’s more complicated than that.” He sighs a second time when he sees the tears about to come out of your eyes, and he puts his hand on your shoulder. “Let me get your mom and we’ll explain it to you, alright?”

“… okay.”

He squeezes your shoulder to give you comfort, then stands up to go tell your mother about what is about to happen.

“You weren’t… quite adopted.”

You look up to see Nate at the room’s entrance, guilt clearly on his face. You frown in confusion despite the tears.

“What do you mean?”

He doesn’t have time to answer that your parents are already back in the kitchen, your mom also in tears.

“Sweetie, we love you.” She takes a hold of your shoulders, her lips trembling from sadness. “You know we love you.”

“I love you too, mom.” You let out a shaky breath. “Mom, just tell me the truth, please?”

Both your parents sit down beside you, your mom also holding your hand and your brother Nate staying at the room’s entrance.

“Twelve years ago… when Nate was around eight...” Your mother slightly turns her head to give your brother a look before looking back at you. “We went for a hike in the woods and we… found you there.”

You blink in confusion. “You… find me there?”

“You were laying on the ground beside a river, crying for help.” You turn your attention to your father, the memory of struggling for life in the river coming back to you. “You were soaked, your clothes were rigged and you had scars all over you.”

You tense up. “God… I...”

“We took you home, then we called the police and the Director of Youth Protection to come and get you, but no one came.” Your mother breathes in, tears still present in her eyes. “You kept crying and we didn’t know what to do.”

“And then I asked if you could stay with us.”

Nate’s words hang around your head. “You did?”

He gives out a sad smile. “Yeah, I didn’t like seeing you crying.”

“We… agreed that you would stay with us until someone came for you, but no one ever did so…” Your dad sighs, not liking where this is going. “We... illegally… adopted you.”

“What…. What do you mean, ‘illegally’?”

“We bought you a fake birth certificate and gave you a fake security number so that no one would question your arrival in our family.” Your eyes go wide and you clench your hands together. “That’s why we… never went outside of the country for vacation.”

“I… I see...” You frown, the memory of your biological dad coming back to you. “But I was… I was four, no? You’re sure no one was looking for me?”

“We don’t know, sweetie… you didn’t remember anything, and no one helped us find your real family.” Your mom shakes her head. “It’s like the police completely ignored us.”

You open your mouth, shocked. “That’s… that’s outrageous.”

“That’s the real reason why I became a police officer.” Your brother puts his hands in his pocket. “I didn’t want what happened to you to happen again.”

You look down at the table, trying your best to acknowledge what you just learned.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“… yeah, I’m fine.” You slowly stand up, your parents soon imitating you. “I’m gonna go prepare for tomorrow.”

“(Y/N), we’re so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” You give out a sad smile. “You saved me when no one else was here. For what is worth, you’re my real family.”

Their lips turn into smiles despite their sad expressions, and you give them each a hug before climbing the stairs towards your room. As soon as you close the door behind you, you let out a sigh and sit down at your desk, soon opening your computer and the Google search tab.

“Mother and child...” You type in what you say, trying your best to remember your visions. “… jumping off a bridge, 1995.”

You click on the result who has a title closer to your memory, which is an article that went out back in 1995, and you instantly lose your breath when you see a picture of you back when you were four years old.

“Oh god, that’s… that’s me…!”

You decide to read the article, dreading what you’re going to learn.

_Margaret Martin, mother of (Y/N), has last been seen falling off a bridge last week after pushing her own daughter off of it. The police found her body this morning right beside the river and eleven kilometers away from the bridge. The theory is that Margaret was trying to kill her own daughter after her husband threatened to divorce her. (Y/N)’s father also had evidence that Margaret was abusing her, and was then filing to have her custody. Margaret, in a rage, decided to kidnap her daughter and kill her, not wanting her husband and father of (Y/N) to take her away from her._

_As of today, the police have not yet found (Y/N)’s body, but her father, Chris Mclean-_

“What-” You shake your head and blink multiple times. “No, that’s not right.”

_-but her father, Chris Mclean-_

“No, no, no-”

_-her father-_

“No…. No!”

_Chris Mclean-_

“That’s… that’s…”

_-still believes that his daughter is alive somewhere._

“… impossible...”

And yet, it’s true.

Chris Mclean is your biological father.

And you’ll have to hide it from him for another season.


	30. TDA: Monster Cash

**1 - Monster Cash**

Chris can’t be your dad. It’s impossible. I mean, you’ve been on his show for a whole season, surely someone would have noticed if you were related to him or not. So there it is, you’re not his daughter. A lot of people just happened to mistook your picture with the one his own missing daughter, or they completely made a mistake by putting his name on the articles instead of the name of your real dad. Yeah, that’s it. That’s surely it. No need to panic, right?

“Babe, look at me.”

You blink a couple of times, then turn your head slightly to see Duncan sitting beside you. You suddenly remember that you’re on a bus with all the fourteen remaining contestants, your boyfriend now staring back at you with his icy blue eyes.

“… huh?”

He breaks out a smirk. “You weren’t even listening to me, were you?”

You stay silence while your brain registers what he just said, then feel your cheek burn.

“I’m sorry...”

He chuckles, taking your chin between his fingers before he kisses your lips his.

“It’s fine.” He smirks seems to stretch out when your blush darkens. “Just don’t get lost in your head again, alright?”

You silently nod, which seems to satisfy him. You take a look around the bus but turn back your attention on Duncan when Bridgette’s and Geoff’s making out session turns out to be the first thing you see.

“What were you talking to me about?”

He takes his attention away from the window to get back to you. “I asked you if Courtney harassed you as much as me.”

You tilt your head, confused. “Huh?”

“God, you’re adorable.” Your heart skips a beat, and it must have translated into your face since he’s grinning again. “But judging by your expression, I guess she spared you.”

You shake your head, trying to regain your thoughts. “She harassed you?”

“Well, if calling and texting me non stop to complain about how she’s not on the show anymore is not harassment...” He shrugs, not really bothered. “I don’t know what it is.”

You stare at him for a few seconds and sighs.

“She’s not the type to not get what she wants, is she?”

“Well, she did go and got you first.” Your breath gets stuck in your throat when you feel his breath in your ear. “ _Then again, I don’t really like taking ‘no’ for an answer either._ ”

“D-duncan!” You push his face away from yours, making him break into laughter. “Stop teasing me, we’re not alone!”

“Awn, come on. That didn’t stop us before...”

You squint your eyes at him. “I would like very much to not be like our neighbors right there.”

Duncan takes a small look at Bridgette and Geoff, their lips still imprisoned together as they’re both moaning pretty loud.

“Ugh, you’re right.” His face turns into a disgusted expression. “We’ll keep it down for now.”

The bus stops just as he says that, the stranger who has been driving for the whole trip now turning back to you all with an annoyed face.

“ _Alright, get off!_ ”

You don’t wait another second for him to say anything else that you’re all already grabbing your bags and luggage, you and your boyfriend being the first two to step out of the vehicle. Duncan stops just at the exit to breathe in, a smile breaking out from his lips.

“Man, I missed the smell of the city!”

“Talk for yourself.” You take a look around while you both step down. “This looks like an abandoned place.”

“Awn, come on, angel.” He puts his bag down while all the other campers get out one by one. “This is going to be amazing!”

You quirk an eyebrow at that. “You’re only saying that because of the one million dollars.”

“True-”

The bus driving past you as fast as it can cut him off, your attention now diverging to the other cast members. You notice Leshawna putting her fists on her lips not too far away from you, a scolding expression on her face. You also notice Harold laying on the ground right next to you, his Rubik cube broken. You had your back turned for literally two seconds, how did he manage to get in this position so fast?

“Where _is_ everybody?”

“Huh...” Gwen tries to find an answer to Leshawna’s question, looking confused. “Maybe we got off at the wrong stop?”

Justin scoffs, a smug present on his lips. “That broken-down bus only had one stop!”

Heather gets off the ground and rolls dirt off her clothes, then gives the model a dirty look.

“I’m not hanging around _here!_ ”

“ _You’re_ gonna give up a chance at a million big ones?” Leshawna rolls her eyes with a smirk and points at Heather’s bald head. “That’s a lot of hair weaves.”

Heather’s about to give out a snarky remark but stops for a second before smiling and putting her wig back on her head.

“Guess I can stay for a bit.”

“Face it!” Beth smiles brightly, clearly happy to still be in the show. “The money’s the reason we all put up with Chris!”

The name brings back what you discovered yesterday.

_Concentrate on something else concentrate on something else concentrate on-_

“Hey, Beth!” Trent gives the ponytail girl finger guns. “You got your braces off! Nice!”

“Oh wow, that’s true!” You get closer to her, giving out a sweet smile. “You have such a pretty smile, Beth!”

Though she seems happy with the compliments, Beth turns away shyly, but enough since Justin gets really close to her.

“Hot as ever.”

Beth gets excited when Justin gives her a seductive smile, but she soon loses it when she notices that he’s just staring at his own reflection on her teeth. Luckily, he gets pulled away by Leshawna who takes his place.

“You look _fi-i-ine_ , girl!”

“Yeah!” Gwen nods happily. “You really do!”

Lindsay gasps. “You are totally on your way to looking the part of my new BFF! It’s my new best french friend! I’m _so_ moving to France when I win!”

Beth’s smile stretches out. “My mom said my world would _totally_ open up when I got my braces off! She was right! I’m going to France!”

Both her and Lindsay start cheering excessively, making Duncan groan in annoyance beside you.

“Do they have to be so loud?”

You chuckle at him, only to be interrupted by honks getting closer and closer. You look on the road to see Chris arriving on a long tour vehicle, your body tensing up as soon as he stops the kart beside all of you.

“Dude!” Duncan smiles wildly as he takes up his bag. “It’s about time!”

Chris ignores your boyfriend’s remark. “Hop on, everyone!”

It takes you a few seconds to take your luggage, not understanding how you can walk towards the kart right now.

_He’s not my dad. He’s not my dad. He not-_

“Come on, people! Sheesh! We haven’t got all day! This kart’s rented by the hour!”

You follow your friends and get in the kart, the host himself driving away as soon as you sit down beside your boyfriend. You’re really glad that Duncan chose a place pretty far away from Chris in general; you’re not sure if you would have been able to get much closer.

“Izzy! Run!” Owen’s voice makes you look back at him, which makes you notice that the crazy ginger girl is not sitting in the kart with all of you but rather standing alone on the sidewalk. “I mean… Kaleidoscope...”

Izzy turns back towards you, a determined look in her eyes.

“No one leaves Iscope behind!”

She hits her chest like a gorilla and screams like Tarzan before she runs towards the kart, making then a few jumping moves until she eventually lands on her seat right beside Owen.

“Welcome to the set of Total Drama Action!”

You take in a sharp breath, which gains your boyfriend’s attention.

“You’re okay, babe?”

You slowly nod and give out a thumbs-up, not having enough strength to talk.

“This season’s hottest reality show will be shot here!” The kart stops for a while so Chris can show you an old giant movie set. “On an abandoned film lot!”

Lindsey gasps. “Does this mean we’re gonna be in the movies?”

“No.” Chris adjust his mirror to be able to see the blond and squints her eyes at her in annoyance. “It means you’re gonna be on TV… and _don’t_ interrupt me!”

He points at her angrily. “ _**Ever!** _”

“Oops.” She touches her nose after he flickers it, not impressed by his stern voice. “Sorry.”

He ignores her and continues to drive the kart, showing you multiple decors for different kinds of movies.

“You will be spending the next six weeks here! Competing against each other in challenges and for rewards!” He takes a pause, his smile widening. “All for the chance to win some _moooonster_ cash!”

_I’d rather go home right now and live a normal life with my family then stay and risk for him to know who I really am._

“Yeah, baby!” Owen laughs, stroking his palms together. “I’m gonna win me some mullah!”

An annoyed Chris turns around with a finger on his lips. “ _Shush!_ ”

Owen mimics sealing his lips together and throwing the key away, which seems to satisfy the host for now.

“Like last season, one team will win, and the other team will watch one of their own make their way down to the dreaded walk of shame to the limousine!”

Just as you’re about to drive past the limousine, Chris pushes a button that pulls up windows of glass around him to protect himself, exposing the rest of you to the limousine’s gas which makes you all cough loudly. Trent looks back at the host, taking away his hand from his mouth to talk.

“Can we spoke to a better ride?”

Chris loses his smile, and when the kart gets away enough from the limousine, he pushes the button to get the windows down this time, then looks back at Trent annoyingly.

“ **No.** ” His eyes catch Bridgette and Geoff starting to make out again, and he rolls his eyes. “Now since we don’t have the outhouse to dump your deepest secrets in, you’ll dish the dirt in our new makeup confessional!”

* * *

“Oh my gosh!” Lindsay holds her hands together, looking around the makeup confessional in awe. “A whole trailer _full_ of makeup!?”

A hand appears from the right side of the screen, appearing to be holding a lipstick. It’s about to apply it on Lindsay’s lips when she moves back violently.

“Oh, sorry.” She shakes her head in disgust. “I don’t use that brand.”

* * *

“I hate this. I just wanna go home.” You’re holding your head in despair, almost crying. “I need to find a way to get kicked off. And _fast_.”

* * *

“On your left-” You turn your head in the direction Chris called, the host soon stopping the kart beside a large tent. “-is the craft services tent. Cater by Chef!”

He doesn’t have time to say anything else that loud thuds can suddenly be heard from inside the tent, all of you soon seeing Chef pursuing a raccoon out of it with a large knife in his hands. You can’t but giggle at the scene, not expecting that, your laughter getting caught in your throat when Chris starts the vehicle’s engine rather fast. Lindsay also falls down into the kart because of her non-existent balance, accidentally releasing her camera who goes straight to your face.

Luckily, Duncan catches it before it hits you.

“Hey, Lindsay!” The blond’s head pops up and the punk throws her camera back at her. “Be careful with that!”

“Oops! Sorry, guys...”

“ _If_ you survive Chef-” You all look back at Chris’ smug face. “-you’ll have to make it through our dramatic award ceremony!”

He shows a huge red scene with a red carpet on your left, his smug turning to a proud smile.

“Where all but one loser will receive… a Gilded Chris Award!”

* * *

Gwen snorts. “A Gilded Chris Award? What a narcissist!”

She takes a small pause where she looks at the camera.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still want one.”

* * *

You take a large breath, still holding your head.

“One more reason to get kicked off.”

* * *

Geoff looks around in boredom. “Are we done now, dude?”

Chris’s expression falls. “I have an eject button… and I’ll _use_ it!”

It doesn’t take much time for the blond to fake a bright smile.

“Please! Continue...”

Chris’ smile comes back unto his face just as you pass an amazing space decor.

“Wow… cool!” Harold looks around in amazement. “Is this a dream?”

“No, Harold! It is not!” Chris points to the sky, almost laughing evilly. “But you’ll soon wish it was!”

The host’s words seem to have an impact on all of you since you’re now giving him terrified looks just as you drive through a big and fake city.

“A few months ago, this lot was home to a high budget monster movie… until the star began experiencing some…. Um…” He gives out a shaky smile. “… difficulties…?”

Lindsay gasps. “Oh no! Did she have like… a mental breakdown?”

“Actually, the star wasn’t a ‘her’… it was an animatronic-” He stops holding the steering wheel to turn to you with a scary face. “-monster!”

That’s when you notice how lots of the fake buildings look like they’ve been chew on by a giant monster, and you feel yourself get closer to Duncan.

“What...” Gwen slowly looks back at Chris. “… happened to it?”

* * *

Gwen sighs. “In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have asked that question.”

* * *

Your blood runs cold when a loud screech makes the world fake town tremble.

“Come on, babe!” Duncan gives out a confident smile just as he puts his arm around your shoulders. “He’s yanking our chains!”

You smile back but stop when you hear robotic thuds and another screech. You look in front of you just in time to see the creature yank down an electric tower, Chris pushing on the brakes.

“Woah!”

“ _Dude!_ ”

“ _Aaaaaaaaah!_ ”

The tower crashes only a few centimeters away from the kart, all of you sticking your heads out to see if you’ve got any damages.

“Since we’re on a film lot-” You all take your attention back to Chris, who doesn’t seem scared at all. “-this season’s challenges will be based on movie genres!”

_That seems logical._

“Today’s genre...” There’s another screech. “… the monster movie! Duh.”

Chris laughs evilly while holding his stomach, the green animatronic monster walking past all of you gasping. DJ gasps in fear and points at the monster before he fainting and falling down on the street from the kart. Chris rolls his eyes and steps down from the vehicle with a stick in his hands, soon coming towards the jock to poke him with it.

“Down for the count!”

You hold your breath and slightly hide by holding unto Duncan when the host turns back towards all of you. Your boyfriend quirks an eyebrow at your actions, not quite understanding why you’ve been acting so weird today, but he lets you hold his arm and just wait for Chris to continue talking.

“Your first challenge: everyone must get from here to the cast trailers, while our state of the art monster prevents your every move!” Chris takes a moment to chuckle, ignoring all your terrified looks. “Chef has kindly offered to control the beast.”

He points at an opened tent not too far away, where you can see Chef wearing a gray suit with white balls on it and moving around like a giant monster.

“And….” Chris look back at all of you and puts his arms up. “… action!”

You all look at him in silence, not knowing what he’s expecting exactly.

“Uh...” He loses his smile, putting his arms back down. “That means ‘go’.”

You don’t wait for another second to get out of the car, deciding to jump down from your clearly opened window while everyone else tries to run towards the door entrance in the front. You watch everyone fight to try and get our first, your boyfriend eventually holding up Harold and throwing him on the ground behind him. You send a last look to Chris, seeing him sigh.

“This is gonna be a _long_ season”.

You don’t wait for something else that you run towards one of the building doors, opening it to reveal that it’s only a long wooden panel. You shrug and close the door behind you, deciding to hide very close to the wall for the time being.

_When you can’t run, hide._

Which is a good idea since everyone seems to have run off in the same direction, the animatronic monster soon following them.

* * *

Everyone screams as they’re now arriving at a beach, the camera then focusing on Owen smiling and Izzy trying to focus on running.

“Wow, baby! Did you see that!?” The blond gives Izzy a small look before he turns his attention back on the monster. “That thing is so cool!”

* * *

You slightly open the door to see if Chris is still there, only to see him still standing beside now an awake and crying DJ.

“ _I can almost hear your sweet lullabies, mama..._ ”

He soon desperately sucks on his own thumb, Chris patting the jock’s head to fake comfort him. The host then looks around, and you close the door before he can see you.

“Okay, I need a better hiding spot.”

That’s when you spot a wooden panel of a red car.

“That’ll do.”

* * *

Owen looks around the beach for a moment, until he spots a giant green hand about to take his girlfriend away.

“Izzy, dock!” His expression turns to a panic one. “ _Dooock!_ ”

Izzy laughs at him, not bothered by the giant shadow on her. “Goose!”

The hands slap on her with a loud thud, but it misses her by a few centimeters and instead sends her into a red mechanical construction thing. She stands up with a huge smile, already laughing again.

“Do it again!”

Owen shakes his head in fear, not wanting to see her die… but he can’t help to watch the creature take the crazy ginger girl in his palms, the animatronic soon walking away to go and drop her inside a huge inflatable castle.

* * *

Owen looks around the makeup confessional. “ _Maybe the monster won’t look for me in here..._ ”

He puts his hands on his chest where his heart should be.

“ _I love Izzy…_ ” He looks at the camera in panic. “ _Not like ‘love’ love…!_ ”

He breaks out a dreamy smile.

“ _But I think she’s amazing..._ ” He loses his smiles for a sad look. “ _I’d just wish she’d noticed me and not that dumb monster. How can I compete with it?!_ ”

He sighs. “ _Sure, we’re both big, and we both eat a lot… but it’s really tall!_ ”

* * *

Gwen and Trent run-pass Bridgette and Geoff making out under a beach umbrella without blinking an eye, the gothic girl and music boy soon stopping in their tracks when they notice the monster walking around rather close.

Gwen gives Trent a panic look. “How are we supposed to find the actors’ trailer anyway!?”

Justin suddenly runs by. “ _Follow the good looking people!_ ”

“ _Yeah!_ ” Beth is seen following the model with a large grin. “ _Follow Justin!_ ”

The couple smile at each other before starting to follow Beth and Justin, the camera then showing Duncan arriving and stopping to give Bridgette and Geoff a long look. He sighs in annoyance but runs towards them.

_I have the feeling (Y/N) would want me to help them at least once._

“Hey, guys! I don’t think this is the kind of action Chris had in mind!”

* * *

Bridgette stares at the camera. “What was I thinking? Duncan is _so_ right! I like Geoff, but… _Hello!_ I also like a million bucks!”

* * *

“Duncan’s right! It’s time to get our head in the game!” Geoff puts his arms in the air, a huge smile on his face. “Booyah!”

* * *

The camera shows Bridgette and Geoff making out in the makeup confessional and then falling down from the chair.

* * *

“(Y/N), is that you?”

You scream in fear, but you soon calm down when you notice that it’s just Owen looking down at you from behind the fake car.

“Owen!” You take a hold of his shirt and forces him to hide with you, not wanting anyone to see me. “You scared the crap out of me!”

“Sorry...” He sits down on the ground beside you, still shaking from the fear. “I’m so glad I found you, though.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him. “Why?”

“Well, cause you’re (Y/N)!” He smiles brightly and nods. “Everyone loves you, so you have high chances of staying in the game for a long time.”

_Shoot. I don’t want that._

You bite your bottom lip in thought. How the hell are you supposed to get kicked off if no one wants you to go?

“So… we’re hiding?”

You give the blond a side look.

“Yeah...” You look up at the sky, still thinking. “For now.”

* * *

The camera shows Gwen, Trent, and Duncan running in the streets of the fake city, the gothic girl giving out a shaky smile.

“This challenge isn’t so bad!” She turns her head back to them to reveal a smirk. “What? No explosion? No burning buildings? No _bears?_ ”

The two boys smile back, Trent being the first one to talk.

“Maybe it’s not in the budget!”

Well, they shouldn’t have talked, because a couple of buildings suddenly burn down, one of them revealing a pissed off bear that immediately runs towards them. The three teenagers don’t wait to run in another direction, all of them screaming in fear.

* * *

The host chuckles while looking at the screen and then looks back at Chef with a frown.

“I thought the bear was tranquilized and returned to his handler?”

Chef gives out a proud smile. “Had one day left on his contract.”

“Nice!”

* * *

The monster takes a making out Bridgette and Geoff in the makeup confessional, the two of them breaking out when they notice that they’re now trapped inside a giant green hand.

“This is it!” Bridgette holds her head in fear. “The end!”

Geoff gives her a desperate look. “We’ll always be together, baby!”

The monster lets them go, the couple now falling down from the sky.

“ _I love you!_ ”

“ _I love you too!_ ”

They then fall into the inflatable castle with Izzy, the camera showing Leshawna running past them towards the beach, but she stops in her tracks once she sees Harold hiding inside a beach umbrella and gives him a hard look.

“Come on, string bean!” Harold opens the umbrella to look at Leshawna, but he gasps when she takes hold of his shirt and forces him to run in front of her. “I hope you can run! We’ve got a challenge to win!”

The ginger boy looks back at his crush. “If I wanted too, I could run as fast as a pronghorn antelope. It’s the fastest land mammal after the cheetah-”

He gets cut off by a violent screech, which also pushes him and Leshawna towards the far end of the beach. They don’t have time to get off the sand that the creature’s already taking a hold of them and walking towards the inflatable castle.

“Easy now!” Leshawna frowns at the animatronic monster and puts her hands on her hips. “This booty is breakable!”

For response, the monster lets them fall into the castle. Harold closes his eyes in fear.

“I love you!”

Leshawna quirks an eyebrow. “Say what now?”

* * *

Trent and Gwen notice the monster on the beach before it can spot them, and then run back towards where they were coming from. They run past Justin, who just look at them run back without noticing the monster. He soon loses his smug when the monster traps him in its hand, but the model calms down and gives it a large grin and a wave.

“Yo.”

* * *

Chris looks back at Chef with a frown, the ex-soldier giving back a shrug.

“What can I say? The kid’s hot.”

* * *

Justin chuckles at the camera.

“I’m not just a gorgeous face… and abs… and butt… and shoulders, okay? I’m also…” He points at his head. “A master strategist.”

He crosses his arms on his chest, his grin stretching out.

“And this year, I’m in it…” He puts his feet on the makeup’s table. “…to win it.”

* * *

The creature gently pulls Justin inside the inflatable castle, the model giving it a thumbs up before losing his smile when he notices everyone staring at him.

“What are you all staring at?”

They all batter their eyes dreamily. “ _You!_ ”

“Oh.” He gains a smirk. “Right.”

* * *

“This seems like a nice place to-” Duncan stops in his mid-sentence when he sees you and Owen hiding behind the wooden panel of the red car. “What are you guys doing there?”

Owen gives out a smile. “Hiding from the monster.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” His blue eyes set on you and he grins. “So this is where you’ve been all this time, huh?”

You’re about to retort something back when a loud screech interrupts you, and so you grab your boyfriend by the arm and pull him down with you and Owen.

“Woah, easy!”

“ _Shhh!_ ” You put your finger on his lips, almost terrified. “ _It could hear you!_ ”

He only smirks down at you while he traps your hands within his, the boy then kissing your fingers.

“ _I know other ways for it to hear us, angel._ ”

Your face heats up at his words.

“Um… guys?” You turn your attention back to Owen, who seems rather uncomfortable. “I’m still here, you know.”

You’ve never seen Duncan so disappointed before.

* * *

Heather runs around the movie lot, her hands holding down her wig when she feels a loud screech close by. She continues to run, trying her best to not get kidnap, passing by a bush where Lindsay stands up from.

“Yeah! You tell her!” The blond points at the big monster with a bright smile. “We don’t like her!”

She loses her smile when he traps her inside one of his palms, his other hand catching Heather before she can disappear. Beth arrives soon after, waving at her best friend with a sad expression.

“I’ll miss you, Lindsay!”

The blond sadly waves back at Beth before she and Heather get dropped inside the inflatable castle. Heather looks up at the monster with an angry look, having lost her wig.

“Um, _excuse_ me!” She stands up, her fists on her lips. “I think you _forgot_ _ **something!**_ ”

The monster drops down her wig, and she puts it back on her head instantly with a smile.

“That’s better!”

* * *

Gwen, Trent, DJ and Beth all run away from the green monster, the animatronic now pursuing them rather fiercely. The four teenagers stops at a dead-end, not knowing where to go, only to see the creature stops a few meters away from them. That’s when Trent spots a building and he points at it.

“Everyone, follow me!”

* * *

“That’s what makes Trent such a good boyfriend-” Gwen smiles sweetly at the camera. “He’s always thinking of others! It’s one of the things I love about him.”

* * *

Gwen and Beth both follow Trent, but the boy comes back when he notices that DJ’s not moving.

“It’s okay, big guy.” He puts his hands on the jock’s shoulder before he forces him to go with him. “I got you!”

The four of them then go through the blue door Trent spotted, only to see that it’s not a building but a giant wooden panel.

“You mean...” Trent gives his friends a desperate look. “Everything around here is fake!?”

* * *

Gwen puts a finger up. “That and Trent’s exceptional powers of observation!”

* * *

You give the camera a panic look. “Did we just hear Trent’s voice?”

* * *

Sadly, the four teenagers don’t have time to move that the monster already catches the in his hands, the creature now leaving to put them in the inflatable castle far away. Beth puts her hands around her mouth, trying to let herself be heard.

“I’m coming, Lindsay!”

The animatronic let the four of them fall, Trent closing his eyes.

“ _I’m here for you, baaaaaabe!_ ”

* * *

You, Duncan and Owen slowly stand up to look at where you think you heard Trent’s voice, the punk instantly laughing when he sees them disappearing from afar in the monster’s hand.

“Losers!” He puts his arms around your shoulders, proudly smiling. “Thanks to (Y/N), we got a nice hiding spot!”

You chuckle. “Awn, no need to thank me.”

“Boy-” You and Duncan turn your attention to Owen. “-am I glad I’m not them!”

You all lose your smile when you feel something tap your shoulders, the three of you turning back to see the giant monster crouching down at you with a large grin. It screeches in your face, your hair trying to follow the wind.

_When you can’t hide, run!_

Owen hides under the red car’s cardboard and you run away without thinking, both of you not noticing the monster catching Duncan and walking away towards the inflatable castle. You stop in your tracks to after a few seconds though, looking back to see the monster letting your boyfriend fall from his hand before it walks back towards where you and Owen were. You frown and decide to go where the monster obviously puts his prisoners, hiding behind wooden panels and cardboards on the way.

You’re really glad that Chef seems more preoccupied with Owen than you at the moment.

* * *

Owen looks up at the monster in desperation.

“Take…. Me…!” He slowly stands up, but falls down back on his knees due to fatigue. “I sur-…-render!”

The creature catches Owen and tries to pull him up, but its arm suddenly stops working because of how heavy the blond is.

* * *

“Boy, am I ever glad I didn’t go on that diet!” Owen laughs and gives out a smug. “B’n’B can really have its advantages!”

He loses his smile for a fear expression. “You know, like… ugh, when you’re trying not to… uh.. be captured by an animatronic monster!”

He looks around the makeup booth.

“For… example… that’s just at the top of my head.”

* * *

The arm bugs due to the heaviness of Owen and frees the blond, the teenager then screaming in happiness.

“Ha-ah! Yes! I’m too heavy!” He laughs before holding the fat on his tummy. “I win! _I_ _ **win!**_ ”

“Not yet, Owen, my man!” Chris arrives walking with a smug, the big blond giving the host a confused look. “(Y/N) hasn’t been captured either and you still need to find the trailers!”

Owen sighs in disappointment. “Awn man...”

* * *

It’s night time when you finally arrive where the inflatable castle is, poking your head on the walls to see all your friends sleeping in there except for Owen. You can’t help but chuckle at how they all seemed to subconsciously get closer to each other in their sleep, your laughter somehow not waking any of them. You wish you would have taken your camera back with you for this season, but you didn’t want to risk breaking it and therefore left it at home.

“ _How adorable..._ ”

You slightly walk away from the inflatable castle and spot two trailers right beside it. Your grin stretches out, and you can’t stop yourself from running towards them.

“I found the trailers-”

You get cut off by one of the trailers getting crushed by a giant foot, your eyes slowly trailing up the leg to see the animatronic staring back at you with a huge grin.

“… _oh fuck._ ”

“(Y/N), run!”

Everyone inside the castle is now wide awake and cheering for you to get to safety, which is something you try to do… but there’s so much you can do when you’re a simple girl trying to flee a giant animatronic monster. And so you get caught by the green hand rather rapidly, now simply giving the monster a hard look.

“Awn, come on, Chef! I was _right there!_ ”

He only let you fall down into the castle as a response, keeping your arms crossed on your chest and your sulking expression. Everyone looks at you in silence, Duncan eventually chuckling and giving your cheek a small kiss.

“At least you tried, babe.”

You only grumble under your breath, the rest of the cast laying back down to try and go back to sleep.

* * *

You all wake up screaming because of a loud trumpet sound close to you, but it takes you a few seconds to calm down and notice a dying Owen finally walking towards the castle. When the blond gets close enough, he falls down unto the ground and tries to take back control on his breathing, Trent shaking his head at him.

“It took you ten and a half hours to walk three city blocks?”

DJ tilts his head at the blond. “That’s just sad, man.”

Not having enough strength to answer, Owen simply gets out a needle from his pocket and stings the inflatable castle, the air soon coming all out while the plastic engulfs all of you. You manage to get out thanks to your boyfriend, who took your hand and guided you towards an exit. The punk looks back at the now destroyed castle, your friends still trapped inside.

“How come no one thought of doing that last night?”

Everyone groans a respond, not liking the accusation as they all come out one by one.

“Wait!” Leshawna looks at everyone one by one, suddenly worried. “Where’s Izzy?”

The creature comes back and puts his hand towards the ground, only to reveal Izzy with a proud and smug face.

“Thanks for the date, baby!” She gets off the hand and turns around to blow the monster a kiss. “Don’t ever leave me… because I’d _find_ you...”

She comes back towards the group, stopping beside you and Duncan when he asks her a question.

“How did you manage to escape?”

“Monster and I had a romantic date! He doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” She takes a pause, her hands behind her back. “Hm-hm… pretty… crazy. I can’t even tell you guys.”

“ _Woah!_ ” Chris’ voice makes you tense up, and you all look around to see Chris coming out of the non-broken trailer. “Am I ever glad I chose to wake up in _that_ trailer!”

He walks towards the group with his usual smile, and you can’t help but feel like you’re staring at him even more than usual.

“It looks like you all made it! Guess I lose the bet… but that was just a warm-up!”

_Wait, what?_

“Good news is: your next challenge… is a reward!”

Everyone cheers except for you, your stomach twisting in fear of staying here even one more second. You’ve already spent one season on this show, how much more time can you stay before someone eventually points out that you kinda look like Chris?

“It will be the boys against the girls, with the winner getting the first pick of the trailers! Where you’ll be leaving for the next forty-two days!” The host puts his hands behind his back, his smile stretching out. “You will have your choice off… trailer A-”

He points at the trailer that is still intact.

“Or…! Trailer-” He loses his smile when he sees the crashed trailer. “-ish.”

The host turns back to you with a regained smile.

“All to the craft services tent!”

“Oh yeah, baby!” Owen puts his hands on his stomach. “I’m _starving!_ ”

* * *

“My mom says I eat when I’m upset.” Owen frowns in thinking. “And happy… and tired… not to mention bored, gassy, morose, joyous, comatose, semi-conscious, avuncular-”

His face suddenly has a giant mustache and he laughs.

“Avuncular...”

* * *

“ _Woo-hoo!_ ” Owen claps at the giant table full of amazing food. “This is awesome!”

“Dude...” Geoff smiles brightly. “This challenge looks like something made out of a commercial!”

“Oooh!” Lindsay holds her hands together in a dreamy state. “Can I star?”

You eye the food suspiciously, some of them looking like… plastic to you.

“Let’s get this speed-eating contest starting!” Owen puts himself on the ground, preparing himself to run. “On your marks! Get set…! _Come to papa!_ ”

He runs towards the table before you can stop him.

“No, wait!” Chris sighs when he sees Owen engulf all the fake food, the host deciding to simply let him do whatever he wants for now.

“Oh, is this field? It must be field!” You hit your forehead with your hand, not believing that Owen is not realizing that everything is fake. “I’ve never tasted anything like this!”

You decide to look away, not wanting to have this imagine imprinted inside your head. Luckily for you, Owen eats fast (even fake food), and so he eventually lets his head fall onto the table in tiredness.

“Owen, the man of many appetites!” Chris walks towards Owen with his usual smile, putting his hands behind his back. “How was it?”

“The turkey was a bit...” The blond burps, making Chris lose his smile for a second. “… dry.”

“Not surprising since the food was fake!”

“I knew it!” You put your fist in the air, but you soon put it down in embarrassment when everyone looks at you. “… sorry.”

Owen’s expression falls. “...fake?”

“Yep!” The host points to Chef at the entrance, who’s holding the material they used to make the fake food. “Just props made from foam core, silicone, sawdust, and wax… it wasn’t a speed-eating contest. It was a contest to find the key!”

“What key?” Owen burps again, letting out of his mouth a key that he catches with his hand. “Oh! You mean _this_ key?”

Chris sighs. “That would be the one.”

“Does this mean I win?”

“Yes!” Chris regains his smile, and you silently ask yourself if you have the same smile as him. “Yes, it does!”

Owen puts his arms in the air. “ _Al-right!_ ”

* * *

Duncan laughs with his arms crossed over his chest.

* * *

“Did you _see_ that!? The dude ate foam core and wax!” He shakes his head while he chuckles. “All props for that, man.”

* * *

“Poor Owen.” You sigh, massaging your temples. “And poor us, it’s gonna be a hell of a night.”

* * *

“Way to find the key, dude!” Geoff gives the camera two thumbs up. “I used to think Owen was just some party dude, but he’s really a standup guy! _Party on!_ ”

* * *

“I could have done that, you know.” Harold shakes his head. “I just wasn’t hungry.”

* * *

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Owen raises up a finger. “There’s one more!”

He gets out a loud burp.

* * *

“You know what that boy has?” Leshawna uncrosses her arms from her chest. “Guts. Guts full of foam core and rubber… but guts just the same!”

* * *

That’s when Chef arrives with a glass full of orange and boiling liquid for Owen, the blond eying the glass for a few seconds before giving out a shaky smile.

“Ah, don’t worry! I’m cool!” He chuckles at himself. “My mom says I got a gut like a goat!”

As if on cue, his stomach growls louder than a bear and his expression twists into pain.

“… no, call nine one one.”

Chris laughs evilly as he walks towards Owen and Chef, stopping between the two.

“You’re gonna need it! Since you’re the winner, you get first pick of the trailers!”

The boys cheer in victory, all of them assuming they’ll get the still intact trailer. Duncan puts his arms across your shoulders and smirks down at you.

“Not too sad, babe?”

You cross your arms on your chest and roll your eyes at him. “Just wait for Owen to pick.”

* * *

You’re all looking at the two trailers, the boys on the right of Owen while the girls are all on the right. The blond looks between his two choices, thinking hard before he gives the boys a smile.

“I choose….” He puts both of his arms in the air. “The smashed one!”

All the boys frown and start to complain, Duncan’s annoyed and angry face making you chuckle from your side while Owen quirks an eyebrow in confusion.

“What?” He puts his fists on his hips. “It has more character!”

All the girls around you cheer and jump around, happy to have the full-intact trailer until the giant animatronic smashes it with his giant foot. The girls sigh in disappointment, while you just shake your head in amusement.

* * *

Izzy laughs with her arms crossed. “I am _so_ over that monster!”

* * *

“Way to go, guys.” You chuckle then smirk. “But you know that you’ll have to _repair_ the trailers, right?”

* * *

It’s now night time again, and you and the girls are carefully watching Chef repairing the trailer he broke earlier to have some fun. It looks like he might be almost done since Chris suddenly drives by on a smaller kart.

“Okay, everyone! Get a good night sleep because _you’ve_ got a seriously early wake-up call!” The host looks at the group of boys waiting beside their own trailers. “Call time is: six am!”

Chris laughs out loud again just as he disappears in the dark. “Sleep quick!”

* * *

The camera shows the boys inside their trailers, about to choose who takes which part of each bunk beds. Harold raises his hand first, determination in his eyes.

“I take the top!”

He then walks towards a random bunk bed, Geoff following him.

“I call the bottom!”

Trent and Owen both points at the bunk bed and call it at the same time, the two teenagers walking towards it and passing by Duncan and Justin laying down on their own.

“Aaah...” The punk guy closes his eyes and smile. “That’s the stuff.”

_I wonder if (Y/N) is as comfortable as I am._

* * *

You’re not.

Probably because the girls are fighting over who gets to sleep with Heather.

“ _I_ need to sleep on the _East_ side so my _head_ will be closer to the ocean!”

Leshawna rolls her eyes at the wig girl. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard! We’re in Toronto! We’re nowhere _near_ the ocean.”

You raise a finger. “That’s true.”

Heather frowns in anger and points at Leshawna. “Then _maybe_ I don’t wanna lay down my _pretty_ head near this big butted loud mouth mall shopping-”

The brown girl interrupts Heather with a louder voice.

“And maybe _I_ don’t wanna sleep near a two-face bossy little string bean of a Prom Queen!”

Bridgette whistles to stop the fight, the two girls looking back at the blond one.

“Girls! You _heard_ Chris, we need to be on set by six am!”

Leshawna smirks. “Where we might cut into your early morning make-out session?”

She then mimics kissing the air with her lips, making the blond turn red.

“Yes! … kind of… “ The blond gives her gothic friend a look. “Gwen!”

The blue-haired girl crosses her arms over her chest. “No way.”

Bridgette turns towards Lindsay and Beth, the model-looking one shaking her head.

“Heather’s meanless might leech down while I’m sleeping!”

Beth gasps in horror. “Is meanless contagious?”

“Totally!” Lindsay smiles sweetly. “Besides, I’m bunking with my new BFF, my Beth Friend Forever!”

Beth holds her hands together. “Awwwwwwn….”

Bridgette gives you a look, which makes you think about the fact that you _could_ technically bunk bed with Heather since you don’t plan on staying here for long.

You sigh.

“I’ll bunk bed with Heather, it’s fine.”

Everyone gives you a shocked look, but Heather’s the first one to turn her lips into a bright smile.

“Um...” Gwen looks between you and Heather, her expression falling into a worried one. “You’re sure?”

Heather growls. “She decided to bunk bed with me, back off Gwen!”

“Well, _maybe_ she just feels forced to!”

“Guys, guys!” You stop them from reaching for each others’ throats. “It’s just bunk beds, no big deal.”

Gwen looks at you for a few seconds, but when she only sees your sweet smile, she sighs.

“Fine.” She looks at Bridgette. “Wanna bunk bed, Bri?”

She gives out a smile. “Sure.”

“Yeah! We can be together!” Lindsay and Beth both jump in happiness before running towards their chosen bunk bed.

Leshawna and Izzy both share a look.

“I guess that means we’re together, girl.”

“You bet!”

You chuckle at everyone before turning your attention back to Heather, who has her arms crossed over her chest.

“I call top.”

She then walks towards the last bunk bed and climbs to get to the top, leaving you rolling your eyes at her and claiming the bottom bed.

This is gonna be a long night.

* * *

While all teenagers are sleeping, Chris sticks his head from behind one of the trailer, putting his finger on lips while looking at the camera.

“ _Shhhh..._ ” He puts one of his arms behind his back. “ _They are sleeping..._ ”

He takes out a megaphone from his back with an evil smile.

“ _ **THIS IS YOUR FIVE AM WAKE UP CALL**_!”

He hears all the teenagers gasp, making him laugh out loud.

“I’m only kidding! You can sleep.” He puts the megaphone back in front of his face. “ _For now._ ”

He then pushes on a button which makes the megaphone scream a loud sound, but he only gets one of Owen’s huge fart as a response. The host chuckles and looks back at the camera.

“That’s a wrap on day one! How will Owen fair with a stomach full of foam core and sawdust? What will tomorrow hold for Gwen and Trent? Will Duncan survive his own jealousy? Who knows what drama is in store for the cast!”

He takes a small pause and loses his smile. “Well I do, but I _ain’t_ telling!”

The host chuckles again and puts his arms up in the sky. “See you next time for another thrilling episode, on Total! Drama! _Action!_ ”

He puts his hands down. “Mclean, out!”

You duck your head when he turns towards your window, putting your pillow on top of your head to try and calm your own breathing.

You can’t deny that Chris is your father.

You have the same eyes.


	31. TDA: Alien Resurr-eggtion

**2- Alien Ressur-eggtion**

You’re currently sitting in line for Chef’s breakfast between Gwen and Duncan, your stomach flipping and twisting in fear of seeing Chris anytime soon. You know you’re gonna have to face him more than once, especially don’t get kicked off soon, but your heart and mind haven’t settle yet from the bombshell you’ve discovered about your origins. And what if you do or say something that hints him about who you really are? What if someone finally has a revelation when looking at you and Chris and then screams about it? What if-

“Keep the line moving, lovebirds!”

Duncan’s voice brings you back to reality in time to see Bridgette and Geoff walk away from the line while making out.

_I should talk to Bri about it… but how do I do that without getting caught by a camera?_

Your boyfriend walks in front of Chef, watching him put the eggs on his plate. “Forgot how hungry I got on Chris’ wreck schedule.”

“I know!” Gwen waits behind you while you get your own eggs. “Got to the point where I’d _kill_ for Chef’s disgusting food… no offense, Chef.”

The ex-soldier squints his eyes at her. “ _None taken._ ”

He then drops her eggs on the floor instead of her plate, making her smile awkwardly while she walks away with you and Duncan. You can’t help but smirk a little at her. Honestly, did she really think Chef wouldn’t take her insult personally?

“Guess I’m not eating today.”

You chuckle at her. “You were kind of asking for it.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Duncan points to his plate. “You can have my burned toast, big mouth.”

She points at his stomach. “Judging from that gut, I thought you’d be all over the extra carb.”

Your boyfriend laughs and shakes his head.

“Dice.”

You frown when you sense a hint of flirt in the conversation, but you shake your head to try and dismiss your bad thoughts. This is just a friendly exchange, nothing more. You’re just overstressed by everything and therefore imagine non-real things, that’s all.

“You can have my toast, Gwen.”

The blue-haired girl looks down at Trent’s plate with a smirk.

“Thanks, but I can’t take enemies’ toast.”

“Enemies?” Trent gives her a shocked look. “We’re not enemies!”

“In this game...” Duncan’s lips stretch into an evil smile. “… we’re _all_ enemies.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him, and his evil smirk turns to a sweet one once he catches your expression.

“Except me and (Y/N).” He gives your cheek a kiss, making you giggle. “We’re in an alliance for life.”

“Awn, thanks, babe.” You take his chin between two fingers and give his lips a small kiss. “I’ll remember you said that.”

A glint appears in his eyes. “Oh yeah?”

“Me and Gwen are also an exception.” Trent’s take back everyone’s attention, the boy giving his girlfriend the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen. “I’ll always have her back, no matter what.”

Gwen’s smile widens. “Right back ya, babe.”

Duncan quirks an eyebrow at the couple.

“I’ll remind you two of that when the money’s being divided up.” You nudge his waist with your elbow. “Ow!”

“Are you saying me and Courtney can’t trust you with the money?” You give him a smirk as you walk away with Gwen and Trent behind you. “Guess I’ll have to win then.”

He chuckles. “Not if you get kicked off.”

_That’s exactly what I want._

“Awn, come on. (Y/N) will never get eliminated.” Trent smiles brightly as they all sit down at a table. “She’s the golden contestant!”

You blink a couple of times. “The golden what?”

“That’s what Chris and the fans been calling you.” Gwen gives you a smirk. “You’re smart, kind and everyone loves you, so your chances of winning this season are pretty high.”

_Goddamit._

“Ugh.. no eggs and bacon for me, Chef.” You all look towards the kitchen counter to see a dying Owen in front of the ex-soldier. “I’ll just take this bowl of prunes...”

Everyone gasps in shock and stare at the blond, the big guy looking back at everyone in confusion.

“What?”

* * *

“My, um...” Owen gives the camera an embarrassed look. “… plumbing’s been clogged ever since I hate all those fake food props. Pressure build upskilling me!”

He forces really hard to try and at least fart, but nothing goes out.

“Come on, colon! Don’t fail me now!”

A farting sound is heard and he smiles excitedly.

“Oh, oh! I hear bells!”

* * *

“ _Welcome to day two of Total Drama Action!_ ”

Chris’ voice makes you tense up, but once you look at him coming inside the tent, you can’t help but snort at his pink hat and scarf. Meanwhile, Duncan gives him a bored look, already judging how Chris is talking to the camera.

“Are you gonna do that every time?”

“Yes!” He puts his finger up, a proud smirk on his lips. “Yes, I will!”

Duncan sighs. “Alright.”

You try to suppress your laugh by putting your hand in front of your face, the host’s outfit making him look absolutely ridiculous to you. The noises coming out of you makes your boyfriend smirk at the host, Chris then trying to ignore the two of you by explaining the new challenge.

“Today’s movie genre… aliens!”

You notice how your boyfriend’s eyes widen from excitement and anticipation, making you smile at him. You just find him adorable when he’s happy, even if he looks like a psychopath sometimes.

“Our unpaid interns have been hard at work figuring out what makes an alien movie successful!” The host points at the ex-soldier behind his counter, silently giving him the green light to talk. “Chef?”

“You got three bases...” He stops mixing his green texture pot to put his wooden spoon in the air. “Aliens wanna take over the world and start making lots of baby aliens… People fight back, and the military’s gone!”

Just as he finishes saying that he throws with his spoon some of the green texture right into Owen’s face, who shuts his eyes in pain.

“Yo, Chris!” Chef’s eyes harden from frustration. “Where’s my paycheck, yet!?”

The host’s expression turn to a terrified one.

“It’s...” He gives out a smile to try and hide the fact that he hasn’t prepared the check yet. “.. in the mail!”

Chef groans in anger, but Chris gets out a piece of paper and a green bag before he can lash out.

“Today’s challenge-” He opens the piece of paper to reveal a simple map. “-find an alien egg and return to home base before mama alien finds _you!_ ”

He throws the piece of paper behind him and shows two fingers up.

“The two first gets to the teams this season!”

“Yes!” Duncan puts his arm around your shoulders and smirks down at you. “I’ll get to pick you to be in my team again!”

You give out a small smile. “That would be nice.”

“Um… _your_ team?” Trent quirks an eyebrow as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Who said you’d be one of the first to get an alien egg?”

“Well, sorry losers, but no one knows alien movies the way _I_ do. The more obscure, the better!”

Gwen changes her expression to a hard one and talks with a deep voice, probably referencing something.

“ _I’m gonna blend up those moggy aliens and have them for breakfast!_ ”

Duncan’s smile stretches out. “Dude! ‘Alien chunks’ is my favorite alien movie of all time!”

“Me too!” Gwen smiles excitedly. “I’ve seen it twenty-seven times!”

You quirk an eyebrow at that. “That seems excessive _.”_

Your boyfriend’s smirk widens. “Fifty-three.”

“Okay, never mind. I didn’t say anything.”

Gwen squints her eyes at him. “I guess you’ll be tough to beat… but I have my lucky charm.”

* * *

“I _love_ the scene in ‘Alien chunks’ when they turn the aliens into fruity blended drinks!” Gwen takes out her necklace to show for the camera. “I even have the necklace!”

* * *

“I like that movie where the aliens take over the government?” Trent starts to make robot movements while talking like one. “ _Take. Me. To. Your. Leader._ ”

Duncan laughs in pity at him. “Oh, dude! You are _so_ going down!”

“It was a good movie! Right?” Trent gives his girlfriend a sad look. “Gwen?”

“Uh… Okay.” She looks away in embarrassment. “This is kind of awkward.”

You move your head so Trent can see you. “I liked that movie.”

“Thank you!” He seems to regain his smile and energy, happy to not be alone. “I knew it was a good movie.”

Duncan quirks an eyebrow at you. “(Y/N), are you serious?”

“What?” You shrug, not really bothered. “It’s the only alien movie I saw and I quite enjoyed it.”

He smirks. “And how old were you when you saw that movie?”

“I don’t know, maybe nine?”

Your boyfriend gives Trent a ‘ha-ha!’ look, which makes him only stare back in frustration.

“Don’t worry, babe.” Duncan squeezes you closer to him, his eyes lighting up. “We’ll watch an entire marathon of alien movies when this season’s done so you can catch up.”

You chuckle. “Between that and the horror marathon we’re supposed to do, I guess we’ll spend a lot of time together, huh?”

“You bet!”

“Yo, Chris!” You all turn your attention towards the other table where DJ’s speaking from. “You got some laser-shooting monster playing mama alien?”

“ _Nooot_ quite.”

As if on cue, Chef’s come back from the kitchen wearing an alien costume, from which Chris frowns in deception.

“You call that slime? _Makeup!_ ” He breaks out an evil smile. “More slime over here!”

You don’t know how, but a whole lot of greenish slime suddenly drips onto Chef, who continues to stare on with a blank face.

“ _I hate my life._ ”

“Here are your GPS devices complete with maps of the film lot!” Chris throws one of the GPS to Duncan, who gladly catches it with an unknown gleam in his eyes while Trent catches another one. “Find the alien eggs, but be _carefuuuul!_ Cause today, you’re all on Chef’s menu!”

The ex-soldiers laughs mischievously while a few other contestants catch the thrown GPS from Chris, and you give your boyfriend a worried look. He smiles back at you with confidence, showing you off the GPS device.

“We’ll win this thing, babe. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

He’s right, but you’re not worried about the challenge.

You’re worried about exposing yourself somehow if you don’t get this off your chest.

* * *

Izzy, Harold, Leshawna, and Owen are walking around the metal and scary building the producers made for this alien episode, the ginger-haired girl being the one to hold one of the GPS. She looks back at her group to give them a confident smile.

“Hey, follow me! I _know_ aliens! Huh-huh! I’ve been abducted loads of times! There’s a tracking device in my neck!” She points at the side of her neck with her finger. “See?”

Harold takes a closer look and notices a small bump where the girl’s pointing at.

“Does it hurt?”

“Only when I hiccup.” As if on cue, her body makes her hiccup and an electric sound can be heard. “Ow!”

Leshawna stops in front of a metal door and shakes in fear.

“Oooh, can you feel that? It’s like there’s something in there cold as ice _with no soul_.”

The camera steps back to show Chris sitting on a chair and watching Leshawna on one of his screen, his smile stretching out in a creepy way.

“Thanks!” He gives out his usual laugh before touching a button. “Now take that!”

Cold smoke suddenly comes around the group and scaring the crap out of them, Harold suddenly jumping up to Leshawna’s arms for protection. She squints her eyes at him while he simply gives her a smile.

* * *

“I’ve already told that skinny little tap poet that things between us _aren’t_ meant to be!” Leshawna looks down at her nails with a smirk. “Guess he can’t get over the lusciousness that is Leshawna.”

* * *

“I’m pretty sure Leshawna isn’t over me yet.” Harold raises a finger. “I see the way she looks at me like she’s un-pantsing me with her eyes...! Her _beautiful_ brown eyes… like chocolate omelet..”

He gasps when he notices what he just said, but the camera cuts before he can add anything else.

* * *

The little group of four continues their way towards where they think the alien eggs might be, the camera moving behind them to show that the rest of the contestants are following them. It stops on Heather still wearing her atrocious wig, but also getting frustrated over her own GPS.

“How we’re the only dots on the screen? _Where_ is Chef?”

Justin turns around to give her a confused look. “How did you get in our group?”

She closes her eyes for one second, trying to contain her anger.

“There are no groups yet. _Plus_ , there’s only one way we can go!”

“She’s not wrong.” You pass by her and Justin with Gwen, Trent, and Duncan, turning your head slightly to them to talk. “Heather has every right to be here, just like you Justin.”

Heather smirk proudly, then walks past Justin but not without sticking her tongue out at him, making him frown in frustration.

* * *

“Even though Heather can be really mean...” Beth stares at the camera with Lindsay standing beside her. “… that doesn’t mean we should be mean back, right? Budda says you can lead a sheep to water, but you _can’t_ make it nice.”

Lindsay smiles in admiration. “That is _so_ deep!”

* * *

You were in the lead with Gwen, Duncan, and Trent when you all hear weird sucking sounds, and so the whole group full of contestants stop in their tracks. Before anyone can say anything, the blue-haired girl turns back to you all with a finger on her lips to shush you.

Despite that, Owen farts. For the first time in days.

“Awn, yes! First one!” He laughs proudly. “Smell it!”

He shuts up when he notices how everyone’s giving him a hard look.

“… sorry.”

The weird sucking sounds continue, and so Trent’s the first one to talk about it.

“What _is_ that?!”

Everyone looks back at Beth, who gives them a bright smile showing her teeth.

“Ever since I got my braces off, I don’t make that sound anymore!”

“Chris!” Leshawna looks around with her hands on her hips. “Is that you?”

* * *

Back in his metal room, Chris sighs.

“I get blamed for everything!”

* * *

They all arrive at a corner, you and your friends staying close to the wall while your boyfriend tries to take a look without any success.

“It must be Chef.” Duncan turns back towards you and Gwen with a smirk. “You wanna run? Or you wanna kick some alien butt?”

You chuckle. “Is that even a question?”

“Yeah!” Gwen puts her fist in the air. “Let’s kick some alien butt!”

Trent clears his throat in order to get the attention of his girlfriend, the blue-haired losing her bright smile for an awkward one as she turns towards him.

“Trent? Any thoughts?”

“Yeah! Let’s...” He looks at the ground in embarrassment for a few seconds, before slightly putting his fist up. “… _kick some alien butt!_ ”

There’s a small silent where everyone just waits.

“So...” Harold turns towards Leshawna. “Who wants to go first?”

The brown girl scoffs. “Please! After you.”

DJ looks back at Owen and Izzy. “After you! I insist!”

Owen doesn’t hesitate before giving his possible girlfriend a smile. “Don’t worry, Izzy. I’ll protect you!”

As soon as he finishes his sentence, the ginger-haired girl takes his arm and throws him on the ground behind her, an animal expression on her face.

“Haha.” She rolls her eyes at him with a smirk. “It’s Kaleidoscope. _Iscope_ for short!”

Owen gives her a terrified look and puts his hand on his face to make the salute sign.

“Yes, sir! Iscope, sir!”

“Okay...” DJ looks around a little then buffs his arms up. “Let’s do this! Mama, if you’re listening, you can have my limited edition raptors trap cards! They’re worth some serious coins!”

You sigh in boredom and walk towards the corner. “I’ll go.”

“No!” Your boyfriend grabs and brings you back to him before you can even look at the possible danger, his arms already engulfing your waist. “I can’t risk losing you.”

You grin at him. “Awn, trying to play the hero, babe?”

A smirk breaks out of his face and he approaches his lips to your ear. “Maybe?”

Beth suddenly starts walking with a determined look on her face.

“ _I didn’t suffer through eight years of braces, head-gears, and saliva spiteful in the ridicule of my pear so I could hide from life!_ ”

“Woohoo!” Leshawna smiles proudly at the small teenager. “You go, girl!”

“Watch out, aliens and Chef!” Beth puts her fist in the air just as she’s about to turn the corner. “Here comes Beth!”

There’s a small silence where you can’t hear anything else but the sucking sound, Beth staring in front of her in shocked until she smiles.

“Oooooh… _._ ” She turns back to you all. “It’s just Bridgette and Geoff!”

As you come to take a look, your boyfriend rolls his eyes.

“Ugh, nice. Aren’t you two ever gonna get sick of sucking face?”

As an answer, the couple only continues to kiss as if their lives depended on it. Owen shakes his head, then looks at Duncan.

“I’m thinking that that’s a no.”

Gwen sighs loudly. “Enough messing around! We’ve got alien eggs to capture!”

* * *

“I wasn’t worried about Chef, alien costume or not.” The blue-haired girl points at herself with a smile. “I mean, I did play second last season. I know _exactly_ what I’m doing.”

* * *

You all look down at Gwen’s GPS, the one green dot show casing you all on it beeping like crazy on one place. The blue-haired girl looks up from the screen and sigh.

“Good thing we’re all lining up in a row, huh?”

“Yeah...” Trent shakes his head. “Ready for Chef to pick us up one at a time!”

Gwen shakes her head. “We really gotta work on our strategy.”

You quirk an eyebrow with a playful smile. “You’re only thinking of this now?”

An alarm suddenly comes off, keeping repeating the word ‘danger’ over and over with a robotic voice. Heather’s widen as she looks at everyone standing in silence.

“Let’s get _out_ of here!”

Justin gives her a long look. “Which way do we go?”

“North is nice...” Lindsay tries to remember an old saying. “But east is least… West is fast!”

“Can’t argue with that!” Leshawna shakes her head in confusion. “Wouldn’t even know how to!”

Beth, Justin, and Leshawna all follow Lindsay to the direction the blond just chose, leaving the rest of the contestants behind. Gwen looks down at her GPS and squints her eyes at it before looking back at you and your friends.

“Map said the boiler room’s east of here.”

Duncan nods proudly. “Alien eggs are _always_ in the boiler room!”

You frown in confusion. “Really?”

Your boyfriend smirks down at you. “Yep.”

“Uh...” Trent looks down for a moment, trying to understand the logic. “Yeah! Totally! East it is!”

As soon as he finishes, Trent runs towards East, Gwen, and DJ running behind him while you and Duncan simply walk. Your boyfriend’s stop going further once he notices Bridgette and Geoff following them, and so he points at them with a hard look.

“Where do you think _you’re_ going?”

The two blonds stare in silence for a second before Bridgette smiles. “With you! To the boiler room.”

You give your best friend a bright smile, finally happy to see her not sucking on Geoff’s face. If she comes with you, maybe you’ll have the chance to talk to her during this challenge-

“Sorry.” Duncan’s eyebrows frown as he squints his eyes at them. “But the lovebirds are on their own.”

Both of them gasp in surprise while you give your boyfriend a shocked look. You’re about to ask him why he refused that your best friend and probably his follow you, but he takes your arm and drags you towards the boiler room before you can even say a single word.

* * *

“In every alien flick, the kissing couples are _always_ the first to go.” Duncan smirks and shakes his head at the camera. “And I know Bridgette is (Y/N)’s best friend, but there’s no way I’m gonna let Romeo and Juliette ruin our chance to win a one million big ones! Nuh-huh!”

* * *

“This is it, baby.” Geoff looks down at Bridgette with a desperate look. “Better make it good!”

She cups his cheek with her hands. “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard!”

They both take a long breath in, then go on kissing each for as long as they can. Of course, it doesn’t take long for Chef to hear them, his evil smile growing wide as he runs to where they are.

* * *

Owen, Izzy, and Harold all stare at the couple making out with disgusted expressions, having Heather snap her fingers at them.

“Everyone, snap out of it! If we don’t play together, we are gonna _lose_ this challenge! Now, who is with me?”

“Um… it’s hard to say, um...” Owen scratches the back of his head with a skeptic expression. “Does being ‘with you’ imply some sort of alliance?”

Izzy raises a finger. “Cause we don’t like you!”

Heather stare at them in shock before she sends them an angry look.

“Okay! Okay!” She gives out a sweet smile. “Forget being ‘with me’, who’s willing to walk beside me in the mutual pursuit of our goals with no commitment of any kind!”

Izzy nods while Owen smiles wildly. “I can agree with that!”

“Count me in!” As soon as he says that, Chef climbs down behind him from the ceiling to do a sneak attack, but falls down on the floor instead and freaks Harold out. “Did anyone else hear that!?”

* * *

“I may not be the best-looking guy, or the best dressed, or the most buffed!” Harold points at himself with determination. “But I get my butt kicked a lot, so my senses are totally heightened! I can _sense_ when something’s coming. _Nothing_ gets by me!”

* * *

Heather, Owen and Izzy’s expressions turn to terrifying ones upon seeing Chef stands up in his alien costume and tap the ginger-haired boy’s shoulder. When the guy turns around to see a paintball gun pointed at him, all colors suddenly drain from his face.

“ **Say ‘hello’… to eternity.** ”

Chef then shoots Harold right in the chest, pushing him far away and unto the floor.

“I’m hit! I’m hit!”

Owen’s about to run when his stomach growls in pain. “Oh no… _It’s time!_ ”

He runs back towards Chef and stops right in front of him, taking him by surprise.

“Take me out! I beg you!” His expression turns to a cold one. “ _It’s an emergency!”_

Chef frowns in boredom, not liking to take out someone so easily, and so reluctantly shoots Owen in the chest without even making move an inch. The blond smiles wildly and shakes Chef’s hand.

“Oh thank you! _Thank you!_ ” He then runs past Izzy and Heather still standing while he farts away like his life is on the line. “Make way! Coming through!”

He farts when he passes by Bridgette and Geoff kissing, the odor being so awfully horrible that Geoff has no choice but to drop his girlfriend on the metallic floor.

* * *

“Awn, man...” Owen holds his stomach in agony. “I didn’t think I was gonna make it!”

He laughs at the situation.

“But these bowels _never_ let me down. Great job guys!”

As a response, his body makes him fart.

“Oh! Haha… I think there’s more...” He stands up in a panic. “ _Coming through!_ ”

He runs out of the makeup booth, a hand appearing in the frame to spray some perfume.

* * *

Chef walks towards Heather and Izzy still standing and staring back at him, the ex-soldier laughing evilly at his future victims. The wig girl suddenly takes the ginger-haired one by the shoulders to put her in front of herself, trying to protect herself.

“I am _not_ going down without a fight, you glorified dumb beetle... lizard… whatever!”

The black man growls in anger at her pathetic insult.

“One of us...” Izzy smirks as she gets out a paintball. “… isn’t getting out of here clean! Haha!”

Heather steps back, Chef’s quirking an eyebrow at Izzy’s weapon of choice.

“You call _that_ a paintball gun?” He throws away his small paintball gun to get out a huge badass one from the ceiling. “ _This_ is a paintball gun!”

Izzy loses her smile for a second but then laughs happily.

“Fun!” She gets out another paintball gun, this one almost even bigger than Chef’s. “I love this game!”

Heather’s eyes widen at the scene before she smiles awkwardly.

“Okay! I’ll just let you two at it!”

She then takes the opportunity to flee the scene, Chef being too busy with Izzy’s challenge to follow her.

“If I can handle hands upon contact with a polar bear…” She gets out a small chuckle. “I can handle a ball of emotionally-withdrawn cook in a Halloween costume!”

“ _Who you’re calling a_ _ **‘cook’!?**_ ”

Chef points his gun at her and fires, but the ginger-haired girl jumps in the air before he can even touch her with his paint bullets. She gives him a grin when she comes back to the floor, pointing her own gun at him and taking one shot. Chef’s eyes widen and he jumps on the side to avoid the paint just in time, his expression turning back to a determined one while also taking Izzy by surprise. He shoots a bunch of times at her, which she manages to avoid most of them, only to get hit right in the boobs and therefore getting thrown against the floor where she stays with her tongue sticking out. Chef walks towards her to see if she’s okay, but his expression falls when he sees her dying state.

“Oh-oh… Not again!”

Izzy opens an eye with a smirk, then jumps up to stand and laughs her ass off.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

Chef smiles in relief. “I thought you were dead!”

“Yeah! I get that a lot.”

She laughs again, the camera stepping back to show Chris in his room looking at the cameras in disappointment.

“What was that! Where are the guts!? The gore...! I’ll fix it.” He suddenly smiles as he takes his pink attire away and put on a cameo hat. “I really should where cameo more often.”

* * *

Bridgette and Geoff are now laying on the floor while they’re still making out, completely unaware (or maybe they just don’t care?) of Chef walking towards them with his paintball gun.

“I once knew a love like that.”

He recharges his gun, making the couple stop kissing and stare back at him in terror.

Needless to say, they don’t have time to react before they get hit by green paint.

* * *

You and your group of five finally arrive in front of the boiler room, the door unlocking and opening for you to access it. The five of you slowly stick your heads in the room carefully, but you break out a smile when you spot the pit full of alien eggs.

“Nice.”

* * *

Heather walks around the metallic hallways alone, but she stops when she looks back in front of her and sees an alien Chef creepily smiling at her. She screams in fear and runs away, but he follows her from close behind and getting closer and closer.

“This is for last season when you put laxatives in my brownies!” She continues to run while giving a horrified look. “The only thing that get people to run, is my uncooked meat!”

He aims at her and shoots at her back, making her drop on the floor while her wig goes far up in the air. Heather puts her hands on her head and gasp when she can no longer feel her wig.

“My wig!” She spots it on the metallic floor and jumps to try and get it before it falls down into the abyss, without any success. “ _Noooooo!_ ”

She notices the camera pointing right back at her balding head, and she tries to hide it with her hands.

“Don’t look at me!”

* * *

“Ever since my head was shaved last season, my hair is growing all patchy and uneven!” Heather puts her hands on her hips while frowning. “I’ve tried everything. Lotions, lasers, traditional thermal medicines!”

She drinks something from an orange cup, sticking her tongue out in disgust before she throws it away.

“Loser chaman!”

* * *

Lindsay, Justin, Leshawna, and Beth all walk inside a room, the blond’s eyes widening in confusion as she looks around.

“Um… How did we get here?”

Justing scoffs. “If we _knew_ , we wouldn’t be _lost_!”

A smile of admiration appears on her face. “You are _so_ smart, Justin! And _gorgeous!_ ”

He smiles when she compliments him, but he loses it when Leshawna puts her hand on his shoulder and Beth gets closer.

“Total knock out!”

“Absolutely gorgeous!”

He’s about to respond something when the door from where they came from suddenly close, a loud and dangerous noise suddenly coming on. Leshawna’s eyes widen as she points at the door.

“I hate to be the bear of big bad alien news, but… I think this may be a trap!”

All three girls put their hands on Justin to try and protect themselves, afraid of what might come. And they should be, because Chef has been connecting a machine of slime to the pipes of the room, making the sprinklers spit out green slime on the group of four while they scream for their lives.

“Oh, gross!”

“Ugh!”

“Groddy!”

Justin puts rubs the slime on his body, instantly relaxing once he feels the coldness of it.

“Oooh… It feels _so_ goooood!”

Beth smiles dreamily. “It looks even better!”

* * *

“You know what?” Beth looks at the camera with a revelation expression on her face. “Models are people too! We stare at them, but they’ve got feelings, just like the rest of us! They’ve got hopes and dreams…”

A sweet smile breaks out of her lips.

“My dream is to marry Justin. My mom says that if I concentrate _really_ hard, one day, all of my dreams will come true!”

* * *

“Wow...” Trent looks down at the pit full of alien eggs with wide eyes. “They look so… real.”

You give him a proud smirk. “That’s the power of arts and crafts.”

“Wouhou!” DJ puts his fists up in the air with a bright smile. “We won! Yeah!”

Duncan quirks an eyebrow at the jock. “Not so fast, big guy. We still have to get the eggs back to home base.”

The GPS beeping sound warning you of Chef’s coming to where you are makes everyone’s eyes go wide, Gwen being the first one to react as she turns to her boyfriend.

“Quick! Pull me down!”

He does as she says and grabs her by her legs while he rapidly pulls her down, the blue-haired girl taking one egg in her hands only for it to explode.

“Ugh! Ever heard of plastic props!?”

She grabs another more carefully, giving it to you once she comes up only to go back down to take another one. She do this action multiple times until you all have your very own alien egg, you currently eying yours in suspicion. You’re about to say something about how you don’t trust these props when an alarm goes off and the door you came through opens to reveal a smiling Chef. DJ tries to run away, but he gets shot before he gets the chance and falls down on the ground screaming. You don’t wait for anything else that you and your friends run away from the room with Chef on your tail, leaving DJ behind.

“Save yourselves!”

The door closes before DJ can say anything else and he frowns in frustration, the camera changing back to you, Duncan, Gwen and Trent now running in the middle of a fake street with your alien eggs.

“ _Attention, civilians!_ ” Chris’ voice makes you all stop in your tracks, and you all look up to see the host driving a helicopter in the sky. “The military is here to protect you now! Unfortunately...”

You look behind you to see Chef catching up to you, his smile even more creepy than before.

“… we can’t let you leave with any alien eggs!”

“But we’re _supposed_ to take the alien eggs!” Trent points at the helicopter with a frustrated face. “That’s what you said!”

“Yeah!” You also point at the host, forgetting for a second that he might recognize you as his daughter if you communicate with him. “I hate it when you do this, Chris!”

“ _Right! I did!_ ”

He chuckles as his helicopter launches bombs, your boyfriend being the first one to point at them.

“ _Incoming!_ ”

You don’t have time to think that someone grabs your arm and throws you away with them, your eyes closing upon impact with the ground only to feel the grossest, coldest, wet splash you’ve ever felt in your entire life. You move your hands around to try and put what you think is the green slime away from your hands so you can wipe it off your face. Once you do, you open your eyes to see your eggs broken on the ground with green everywhere, your boyfriend also staring down at himself completely covered in slime.

“Does this mean we’re out?”

“Too bad, so sad.” You turn your head around to see Gwen and Trent arriving, the blue-haired girl looking at you two with a smirk. “More money for me!”

You giggle while Duncan puts his hand on his heart, mimicking pain.

“Ooh! Down for the count!”

You can’t help but laugh out loud at his face, which gains his attention. He smirks down at you, an evil glint passing through his eyes.

“What are you looking at, huh?” He moves his green fingers in a teasing way. “Don’t make me tickle you again...”

“No!” You try to run away but he grabs you before you even get the chance, his fingers already attacking your sides. “N-no, stop! Hahaha, please!”

His grin stretches out. “Say you love meee….”

“Okay, haha, okay! Hahaha! I love you!”

“That’s better.” He stops and gives you temple a kiss while you recover from his attack. “I love you too, babe.”

You giggle, slightly pushing his shoulder. “Yeah, you better.”

Trent quirks an eyebrow at the exchange, analyzing what he just saw.

* * *

“Duncan is always acting like such a tough guy.” Trent puts his hands up to mock the punk boy. “Oooh, you’ve got a Mohawk! Oh, you’re _so_ tough, bud! Yeah, Hairspray is really manly!”

The music boy laughs as he crosses his arms over his chest, a smirk still present on his face.

“But seriously, he thinks he’s tough, but just say (Y/N)’s name and he’s suddenly acting like the perfect love interest in the cheesiest romantic movie ever made.” He shakes his head, then smiles sweetly. “I love seeing Gwen stick it to Duncan, she’s so awesome…! I’d do anything for her.”

* * *

“Oh no!” Gwen looks back at Trent with a horrified look. “Our alien eggs!”

Her words cut short the cute exchange between you and Duncan, your boyfriend’s dark nature coming back once he sees an egg about to fall down from a moving plank right into the floor. He looks down at you with a smirk, a plan already forming in his head.

“I got it-”

“ _No!_ ” Trent runs towards the egg before Duncan can even finish his sentence. “ _I’m_ on it!”

Gwen puts her hand on her chest only to look down on her neck when she can’t feel the reassuring metal of her alien necklace.

“My necklace! It’s gone!”

Trent’s stops in his tracks and looks around to try and find the necklace. He smiles when he spots it the mouth of a sewer, but he loses it when he realizes that he’ll have to choose between saving the necklace or the last egg. He keeps looking between each item, the stress rising inside his veins, but it’s Gwen’s gasp upon seeing her necklace about to disappear into the sewer that pushes him to catch it.

Sadly for him, you’ve acted before him, and you’re actually the one who catches the necklace.

“Got it!” You hand it over to the blue-haired girl with a smile. “Here you go, Gwen.”

Your friend gives you a sweet smile as she takes the necklace from you, her heart pounding louder as she stares into your (e/c) eyes. Trent can only look down in embarrassment at himself, having neither saved the necklace nor the egg.

* * *

“Okay, I know this is gonna sound really girly, but I was seriously touched when (Y/N) saved my necklace instead of taking a possible win!” Gwen puts her hands together and smiles dreamily until she realizes what she just said and clears her throat. “I mean, I’m also really glad Trent chose to save my necklace instead of the egg, it’s just sad he didn’t get the chance to actually do it.”

* * *

You walk back to your boyfriend just as Trent walks back towards _his_ girlfriend, the boy ignoring Duncan’s mock on his way back. You hit the punk on his shoulder, making him yelp in surprise.

“Stop being mean for a second, will you?”

“Hmm...” He gets his face close to yours, a dark gleam in his eyes. “Only if you kiss me right now.”

You roll your eyes with a playful grin, only giving his lips a small teasing kiss.

“Hey!” He pouts in disappointment, making you giggle. “Not fair!”

“Sorry for losing the egg.”

You turn your attention back to Trent and Gwen, the blue-haired girl currently giving him a sweet smile while showing off her necklace. “Thanks for trying to save my necklace anyway.”

Her words seem to cheer him up, but his eyes widen in surprise when she puts the necklace around his own neck.

“I want you to have it. For luck.” Her smile widens as she looks back at his face. “It suits you.”

Duncan fake coughs. “ _Girl!_ ”

Trent sends him a dark look from afar while you punch your boyfriend’s shoulder again, the punk only chuckling down at you while puts his slimy arms around your slimy form and gives your slimy face loads of kisses.

“You four gave it a valiant effort.” Duncan stops his kisses when Chris falls down beside you with a parachute, his cameo hat still on his head. “ _But!_ You’re still losers!”

He laughs out loud, really proud to be the host of this show until Trent spots two alien eggs from afar and smiles wildly.

“Not so fast, Chris!” The music boy runs towards his treasure, the boy picking up the two eggs. “Looks like my good luck charm is working already!”

Chris’ face falls down as his mouth opens wide, Duncan staring at Trent in disbelief while you chuckle and Gwen applauds in excitement.

“Gwen, meet you at home base!”

The music boy runs back just in time to avoid Chef’s arm getting wrapped around him, the ex-soldier tightening his fists in the air.

“I’ll get you next time!”

Chris walks back to Chef with a disappointed look. “Can’t you do anything right?”

“ _WHERE’S MY MONEY!?_ ” Chef’s scream makes Chris’s expression turn to a terrified one. “ _HM!? GIVE ME MY MONEY!_ ”

Chris runs away from his only friend, leaving an angry alien Chef staring at his leaving form.

* * *

As soon as Trent and Gwen finally arrive at home base (where all the eliminated contestants except for you and Duncan were waiting), you, Duncan, and Chris arrive behind them walking, the host smiling wildly like usual.

“We have our two winners! Our _only_ two winners!” You and Duncan continue to walk to go and sit down on the remaining wooden benches. “The rest of you really stink! As our winners… Gwen and Trent will be able to pick their teams… which means...”

The host takes a small pause to smile evilly when he notices that the couple hasn’t realized their future destiny.

“… they’ll be competing _against_ each other this season!”

Trent and Gwen gasp in terror, the music boy being the first one to talk.

“Dude! _No!_ ”

Chris laughs as a response. “Bet you didn’t see that one coming!”

You quirk an eyebrow at that. You _did_ see that coming. He freaking said in the beginning that the first two winners will pick their teams. Surely you’re not the only one who remembered that.

“After we vote off two cast members in the most _thrilling_ Gilded Chris Ceremony yet-” Everyone gasps upon hearing the news. “-yes, you heard me. I said _two._ I’m liking the two’s today! Must be _Tues_ day!”

You’re the only one who snorts at that, the rest of the cast members looking back at him with blank stares.

“Yeah, I don’t get paid to write this show.” Chris looks away while crossing his arms over his chest. “… at least someone thought it was funny...”

You lose your smile and look down at your hands, trying to show off that it wasn’t that funny at all. Why did you snort at that stupid dad joke? It wasn’t even funny! It can’t be because Chris is actually your dad, right? No, it’s not. You’re just very stressed and tired, so you would laugh at anything…. Right?

Yeah, that must be it. Nothing to worry about.

* * *

It’s now nighttime, and you and all the other contestants are currently sitting on bleachers in front of a large ceremony stadium. You, in particular, are sitting right beside Duncan, who’s been playing with the palm of your hand for a few minutes now to calm down your nerves. He guesses that you’re scared of getting kicked off, which would be understandable, but you’re actually scared of _not_ getting kicked off.

One more minute spend in this show is one more risk to be discovered.

Chris finally arrives on stage wearing a light blue tuxedo, the host getting in front of the podium to speak to all of you.

“It’s time to cast your votes!” Chris points at the bleachers where you’re all sitting. “Under your seats, you’ll find your voting devices.”

You put your hand under your seat to feel a rectangular metal thing, and you put it out to see some kind of a tablet with the names of all the contestants on it to click on.

“Just press the button of the person you want voted off. Oh! And no peeking! Or it’s...” The host starts to chant a popular song while moving his arms up and down. “Nananana…! Nananana…! Hey hey…! Goodbye…!”

He laughs at himself while everyone votes for who they want to go. Without even thinking, you click on your own name, wanting to get kicked off really badly.

But then you remember how everyone thinks you’re the ‘golden contestant’ and that you have all the chances in the world to win this season.

What if you never get kicked off? In that case, you’re gonna need to talk to someone you can fully trust, or else you’ll start getting crazy and you’ll get discovered…

You give a side look to your best friend since season one, Bridgette, who’s currently giving lovey-dovey eyes to her boyfriend Geoff. She’s definitely the one person you could trust with anything, but ever since she’s been going out with Geoff, getting to talk to her alone is almost impossible. What could you do to-

You get a revelation and press Geoff’s name as your second vote, feeling quite guilty of what you just did. You like Geoff, you consider him one of your closest friend as well, but he’s in the way and you need him to be gone.

Just for now though.

“The votes have been cast!” Chris’ voice makes you look back up at the stage, only to laugh out loud with the others when you see Chef walking towards him wearing a pink gown with women’s gloves and diamonds earrings. “If you get a Gilded Chris, it means you’re safe! For now!”

The ex-soldier squints his eyes at the host when he hears all the laughs, clearly not appreciating how he has been treated these last few weeks.

“And the Gilded Chris’ go to...” The host takes a smile pause while looking at all the contestants, Chef starting to throw the gold Chris at every person the host names. “Trent! Gwen! Harold! Duncan! (Y/N)!”

 _Dammit_.

You reluctantly catch your award, looking down at the small and gold Chris in your hands with your stomach twisting. Hopefully, Bridgette will stay in the show.

“Annnnd Izzy!”

The ginger-haired girl screams in frustration. “It’s _Iscope!_ ”

Chris rolls his eyes. “Fine! Iscope!”

He then goes back to smiling wildly.

“Lindsay, Justin and Beth are also safe...”

“ _Yeaaaaaah!_ ”

“So is Owen! My men!”

The big blond catches his award with a smile. “Awn, thanks, Chris! And thanks, Chef! For doing what the prunes couldn’t!”

“Next is DJ, surprisingly Heather, and last but not least...”

While the host takes a pause for suspense, you cross your fingers in hope your best friend gets saved, wanting to talk to her in private so badly, but Chris’ next word shatters your heart.

“ _Leshawna!_ ”

“Wouhou!” The brown girl hugs Bridgette and Geoff but frees them when the realization kicks in. “Oops, my bad.”

She catches her award, letting the blond couple blink in disbelief.

“But… but…!” Bridgette looks back at you with sad eyes. “I thought everyone liked us!”

Duncan squints his eyes at them. “‘Liked’ being the operative word.”

* * *

“I know _exactly_ who’s gonna get it this week.”

Duncan mimics two people kissing hard, a smirk still present on his face.

* * *

“Three words...” Lindsay looks at the camera in boredom. “Bridgette and Geoff.”

* * *

DJ smiles wildly. “At least they’ll have each other.”

* * *

“Nooo, not Bri’!” You grab your hair in your hands in desperation, tears appearing in the corner of your eyes. “I can’t survive here without her! Why wasn’t it me? _Why wasn’t it me!?_ ”

* * *

Chris gets his face closer to the mic. “Any final words?”

Bridgette and Geoff stare at each other for a while before they smile, eventually going back to kissing each other with even more passion than before. Everyone immediately starts to complain upon seeing that while you silently break inside, your last shred of hope for staying sane getting away from you.

And from seeing how your best friend leaves with her boyfriend without even saying goodbye, you know that she just doesn’t care anymore.

“Who will Gwen and Trent for their team?” Chris’ voice gains back your attention, your heart squeezing in pain again. “Will Izzy ever answer to her _actual_ name? Will Owen _finally_ get some lunch?”

Owen smiles wildly. “Thank you!”

“Tune in next time for another exciting episode of... Total! Drama! Action!”

And with that, your world crashes down.


	32. TDA: Riot on Set

** 3 - Riot on Set **

You’ve been wide awake for at least an hour now, laying down in your bed a s Heather tosses and turns  around  right above you. You should  probably go back to s leep  since  you’ll need the extra energy for whatever’s in store for today, but you can’t. Your eyes can’t stop staring at your Gilded Chris Award because of your brain that keeps finding you new common features with the host, therefore making your heart pumping blood faster  each second . You also keep remembering how your best friend didn’t get one of those golden chocolates and then left without even trying to say a mere ‘goodbye’ to you. So no, it doesn’t matter that it might be four am right now.  Anyway,  your chances will be that the real Chris will wake you all soon, so at least your paranoia over your origins and your relationship with your best friend will save you a sudden heart attack  from getting woken up abruptly.

“ _Hey!_ ” You slightly jumped up at the sound of Chris’ voice, but soon calms down when you realize that you were right and that he’s just about to wake everyone up. _“Keep it moving!_ ”

Of course, none of the other girls wake up, and so you close your eyes and prepare yourself for the worst: which is a loud alarm sound that makes Gwen scream out loud as she sits up.

“ _All crew on set! Call time is Four AM!_ ”

Did you already know that he would do something like that because he became predictable or because you share the same DNA? You open your eyes  in apprehension , trying  your best  to erase that thought. While the other girls complain and  slowly get ready , you s imply s it up and put your Gilded Chris Award on the edge of the window right next to you. Most of the others have already eaten the chocolate reward  that is trapped inside the golden wrapper , but you can’t seem to even open  it up . It’s already weird to get a little statue with the face of someone that might change the course of your entire life, it’s even weirder to eat it.

You get back to reality when someone snaps their fingers in front of your face, and  so you turn your head to see a bald Heather giving you a hard look with her fists on her hips.

“Are you gonna get ready or are you just gonna stare at that forever?”

You blink two or three times, now noticing that there’s only you and her left in the trailer.

“Oh… sorry, I’ll be on my way.”

You put your covers away to free yourself  from your bed  and then stand up, soon taking out a few pieces of clothes out of your luggage,  also not noticing  the mean girl frown ing at you.

“Why are you acting so weird?”

You stop for a few seconds, panic rising inside your head, but you force yourself to continue your search for decent clothes.

“What are you talking about? I’m always weird.”

She quirks an eyebrow at you. “Well… I guess you’re not wrong.”

You give her a bright smile. “Of course I’m not. Now, unless you wanna see me naked, I suggest you either turn around or leave.”

Her cheeks turn red at the simple thought of seeing you even in  your  underwear, and so she turns away from you and walks out of the trailer to give you some privacy. You can’t help but chuckle at her reaction. In your opinion, a bald Heather blushing is as cute as a black-haired Heather blushing,  if not a little more hilarious .

You hurry to put on your clothes and to brush your hair  before you eventually get out to join th e  girls and boys outside,  who all look like they’re dying . You manage to squeeze yourself between Heather and Gwen just in time for Chris to announce today’s challenge, the man for once not wearing his usual creepy smile  as he walks back and forth in front of you .

“You’re on a film set now, and you’re gonna learn that showbiz is **not** -” He stops in front of Owen, pointing at him with a threatening expression. “-all red carpets and pool parties.”

He then goes back to  his pacing.

“Today you’re gonna get schooled on how tough on-set production life can be.”

The blue-haired girl beside you rolls her eyes. “Whatever, I can deal. I once had a job at a  _petting_ zoo.”

Your eyes go wide in surprise just as Heather leaves your side. “You worked in a petting zoo?”

“Yeah.” She gives out a fake smile. “It’s _sooo_ adorable. Everybody feeds the _adorable_ goats their _adorable_ cabbages, but **somebody** -and I mean _me_ \- had to shovel up the less adorable end of the digestive process.”

You give her an empathetic smile, almost not noticing Chris stopping in front of you two with a huge grin.

“Well, speaking of number _two_.” You feel relieved when he points at Gwen, his grin turning to an evil one. “It’s time to pick your teammates… _and_ then try to stick it to the team your boyfriend chooses.”

You notice Gwen and Trent giving each other a scared and awkward look, a few paranoid thoughts probably going through their heads. You only have time to see Trent open his mouth to ask his girlfriend a question when you feel arms  get  around your waist and lips  attaching themselves  on your neck.

“ _Good morning._ ”

You giggle under the tingling feeling of  Ducan’s lips against your skin and you slightly turn your head to be able to see him.

“Good morning.” You take his chin between your fingers and kiss his lips for a moment, his arms tightening around your form as you do so before you part away with a smile. “Ready for the day?”

“ **They better put us in the same team.** ” He gives your neck a few kisses while trailing down to your shoulder. “ **Or I’ll kill them**.”

You snort. “You know that we’re both very good players, right?  _Logically_ , we’ll be picked by different teams.”

You feel him smirk against your skin. “Guess I’ll kill them, then.”

You laugh out loud just as Trent and Gwen move  far away from each other and  to each side of Chris, the host now looking back at the camera  with a wide smile.

“Okay, let’s get this bloodbath started!” He looks back and forth between Gwen and Trent. “You’re gonna choose schoolyard’s style: boy, girl, boy, girl. Of course, ladies first… Trent!”

The music boy stares back at the host for the small amount of time it takes him to register his insult, then he turns his unsure eyes to the rest of contestants.

“I don’t know… Lindsay?”

“ _Yes!_ ”

The blond flaps her hair out of her shoulder with a wild smile as she walks towards Trent, apparently really proud to have been picked first. Gwen quirks an eyebrow at that, unsure of why he chose the blond.

* * *

“Lindsay? _Really?_ ” She squints her eyes at the camera. “If he thinks choosing a pretty girl is going to spite me, he’s wrong. I couldn’t care less.”

* * *

Chris turns back towards the blue-haired girl, his grin still present on his face.

“Gwen, it’s your turn to pick.”

“Well, I don’t know...” She lets her eyes wander between each contestant until her black orbs set on the green-haired boy holding you. “Duncan?”

You hear Trent gasp from his place, and it only takes you one look at him to notice that he’s  beyond  shocked.

* * *

“I can’t believe she just… went ahead and chose Duncan!” Trent looks down at the makeup table as he thinks. “I mean… they’re kind of alike… and now she wants to be on the same team? What am I supposed to make of that?”

His expression hardens as he squints his eyes at the camera.

“You think you know someone...”

* * *

You don’t have time to further analyze Trent’s expression that your boyfriend frees you from his arms and gives your cheek a small kiss. You smile under his touch and watch him walk towards Gwen, the boy then sharing a high-five with her before sending Trent a proud smirk. You look back at the music boy to see him staring back at Duncan while tightening his fists in anger. That is until a huge grin spreads on his face.

“I choose...” He points at you, his eyes showing determination. “The gorgeous and loving (Y/N)!”

_ Wait, what? _

* * *

“The gorgeous and loving (Y/N)?” Gwen stares at the camera with a confused expression. “Was Trent trying to tick me off by picking her like that? Don’t get me wrong, (Y/N) is gorgeous and loving… but...”

She crosses her arms over her chest.

“You think you know a person...”

* * *

“ **He’s dead.** ” Duncan’s right eye twitches as he stares back at the camera. “ **He is** _ **so**_ **dead.** ”

* * *

You don’t have time to react that Duncan’s already in Trent’s face, holding up the music boy’ s shirt by his  collar while threatening to throw his fist right in the middle of his face.

“ _ **Flirt with my girlfriend again and you’re dead.**_ ”

You gasp in shock and hide your mouth behind your hands, already praying god to stop this  soon to be fight. “ Oh god, no...”

Despite the punk’s crazy wide opened eyes and frightening expression, Trent somehow manages to keep a proud smirk on his lips.

“What? You don’t agree with me?”

“ _ **You son of a-**_ ”

“Duncan!” You grab his fist before he can hurt Trent, the punk not freeing the music boy yet as he continues to stare at him in anger. “Please calm down.”

“But I hate him!”

“He’s not worth it!” You slowly caress his palm with your fingers, trying to soothe him. “For me? Please?”

“… fine.” He lets go of Trent’s shirt to put his arm around your shoulders as he lets you lead him back towards Gwen, his eyes still staring the green-eyed boy. “But I’ll be watching you, man.”

“Anyway, you already picked a girl in the round before that.” Gwen crosses her arms over her chest with a grin. “So you can’t pick (Y/N) this round… right, Chris?”

“Normally I would agree.” The host smiles wildly from excitement, putting his arms in the air. “But that drama was so wild! I want more! So I’m gonna allow him breaking the rules just this time.”

“What!?” The blue-haired girl gives Chris a hard look. “But I wanted to pick (Y/N)!”

“Too bad!” Chris chuckles as he shows you the way towards Trent’s side. “If the golden contestant could walk over there, please.”

You grind your teeth with anxiety as you walk in front of your biological father, trying your best not to look suspicious by concentrating on walking towards Trent. Chris quirks an eyebrow at you, wondering why you’re not smiling and give out sarcastic remarks like you would usually do, but he shrugs once you stand beside Lindsay and he then turns back towards the blue-haired girl.

“Gwen, it’s your turn!”

“… fine!” She throws her arms in the air for a second, still slightly frustrated to not have been able to pick you. “Because I like to keep things cool… I pick Leshawna.”

The brown girl grins as she walks towards her friend. “The girls are back in town!”

They share a high five just as Lindsay gasps in the realization of something.

“Oh! You know what would be really great-” You and Trent look back at her, expecting to hear something relatively dumb. “-is if you’d pick Tyler!”

You hit your forehead with your hand while the music boy quirks an eyebrow at her.

“Tyler’s not in the game anymore.”

Lindsay loses her wide smile. “Seriously? Bummer...”

Trent sighs as he feels bad for the blond girl, then he looks back at the rest of the contestants.

“I choose Justin.”

“Oh, picking all the _good-looking_ contestants.” Gwen rolls her eyes at her boyfriend. “That’ll get you far.”

Both Leshawna and Duncan sends her a mean look, not liking the hidden message behind her words, while Trent gives out a grin.

“It will in show-biz.”

She groans back in frustration. “ **DJ.** ”

The sweet-heartened jock smiles brightly as he joins his new team, Trent squinting his eyes at his girlfriend as he makes his next choice.

“Beth.”

While Beth smiles shyly and walks towards you and the rest of your team, Gwen looks at the rest of the contestants deep in thought. She’s about to choose someone (probably Izzy) when Leshawna whispers something in her ear. You watch as the blue-haired girl’s eyes go wide in shock, the girl arguing with her friend a little before she sighs.

“Fine...” She raises a finger, keeping her eyes close. “We choose… Heather.”

The bald mean girl almost pops her eyes out of her socket when she hears her name being pronounced from her worst enemy’s lips.

“ _Really?_ ”

* * *

“It’s about time someone realizes who’s the most valuable player here… Aside from (Y/N).” Heather looks back at the camera with an annoyed expression. “But I mean, _seriously_ , people!”

* * *

You put your hands in your pockets as you wait for Trent to decide between Owen and Harold, almost yawning in boredom for how long it’s taking him to choose.

“Just choose Harold.”

He gives you a side look, still thinking. “Why should I?”

“Because he’s more skilled than Owen?”

“Hm… maybe, but… Owen won last season.”

You shrug. “It’s your choice in the end, Trent.”

He sighs as he rubs his eyes with his fingers, the decision making him have a headache.

* * *

“How do you choose from flakier to flakiest?” He looks down at the makeup table. “Dude, I don’t know… I had to pick someone.”

* * *

The music boy finally raises a finger. “I choose Owen!”

“ _Wouhou!_ ”

The big blond puts his arms in the air as he approaches your group, giving you and Trent a high five before going to stand beside Beth. You look down at your hand in disgust when you feel the grease Owen just accidentally gave you, and so you tub it against your pants to wipe it off.

“Um, hello?” Harold looks at Trent in disappointed. “Don’t wicked skills count for anything? I mean, who else here went to film camp and is fully trained as a junior cinematographer with a thorough knowledge of lightening filters film stars?”

You raise your hand at his question, getting a few weird looks from others.

“What?” You put your hand down, almost feeling embarrassed. “I wanted to learn how to make sick horror movies.”

They all look away from as soon as they hear your explanation, Gwen now looking at the ginger-haired boy with a frown.

“I pick Harold.”

“Wise choice.”

Gwen quirks an eyebrow at Harold as he passes by her. “They were no other guys left.”

He squints his eyes at her from his place. “ _ Still. _ ”

She rolls her eyes at him while Trent looks at the remaining contestant, aka Izzy.

“I guess Izzy is in my team then...” Trent frowns when the ginger-haired girl doesn’t walk towards your team. “Izzy?”

She gives him an annoyed look, then crosses her arms over her chest and acts like she hasn’t heard him at all. Lindsay approaches the music boy with her usual happy smile when she notices the confusion on Trent’s face.

“She likes to be called Kaleidoscope.”

The music boy sighs. “Oh,  _ right. _ ” He looks back at the ginger-haired girl. “… Iscope?”

The crazy girl instantly smiles wildly and waves back at him.

“Here!” She laughs as she walks towards the group. “Hi!”

“Gwen-” Chris’ voice brings back your attention towards him, the host now being in front of the blue-haired girl’s team. “I christen your team… the Screaming Gaffers!”

He then runs towards your team to be able to arrive before the camera switches, which he somehow successfully manages. You won’t lie, it’s kind of impressive.

“Trent, you’re the Killer Grips!”

“Grip?” Beth’s bottom lip quiver in sadness. “I don’t wanna be a Grip...”

“ _Please!_ ” Heather rolls her eyes in annoyance. “It’s not like being called Gaffer is something to brag about. It sounds like something that has rabies!”

You all tense up when you hear sounds of things getting crushed and thrown around, and so you turn you back to see two crew members destroying some of the camera material.

“I’m sick and tired of getting no respect around here!”

One of them pushes a TV down from a desk before he leaves with his colleague.

“Okay, since we’re running late now-” You look back at the host, who’s looking down at his golden watch on his wrist. “-and don’t seem to have anymore, um… whatever those two… crew… dudes… did…? We’re gonna get going!”

He walks away from in front of your trailers to get in front of two sets of movie material and two small movie trailers, the host then putting his hands up in the air in excitement.

“Your challenge: for each team to set up a film set!”

Leshawna rubs her hands together with an evil grin. “We’ll be scarfing flap-jack by seven.”

Chris’s happy grin turns to a creepy one. “Oh,  _ will _ you?”

_ What have you planned, Chris? _

“As a location manager, I want your sets to go...” He looks around with a fake “I wonder” look, his evil smirk still present on his face as he points in the air. “ _There!_ ”

You all look up to see a constructed mountain that looks just like the one back in Camp Wawanakwa, only bigger and higher than the one you used to climb. Gwen looks back at Chris with an annoyed look, frowning at the host.

“You just _love_ doing this to us.”

“Yes. Yes, I do.” Chris puts his arm down to pick out a walkie-talkie from his back pocket. “Chef! Clear for traffic up there!”

There’s a long silence where Chef doesn’t answer, probably confused as to why the host would ask if there’s traffic up on a fake mountain.

“ _Clear._ ”

“Lights!” You look back at Chris to see him with a megaphone, Trent running towards one side of the film materials to take a light and go run up the mountain. “Camera! Action!”

You watch Trent pass by you while your other teammates go grab some material, the music boy’s eyes widening when he sees that you’re not moving. “(Y/N), help us!”

You sigh to keep on the role of “I don’t wanna do any effort” so that your friends will kick you off the show, walking towards the materials and grabbing the lightest object you can find before you start running up the hill with the others. You pass by Owen holding some lights and Beth and Lindsay carrying a cart full of stuff before you spot Trent up ahead with a light, Gwen following close behind him with a camera on her shoulder. Your eyes go wide when you see her about to fall on her back, but thankfully your boyfriend saves her from destroying her face and helps her get her balance that. It’s when you’re close enough to them that you notice Trent looking at his girlfriend with wide eyes, having only seen Duncan’s hands on her shoulders.

“What are you doing with him!?”

She quirks an eyebrow just as you pass by her and your boyfriend. “Uh… we’re on the same team?”

You’re passing by Trent when you finally notice that you’re holding the giant makeup bag, which may be the lightest, but it’s too large for you to run properly, especially in a hill. And so what happens is that you trip over a rock, which makes you sway from one side to the other dangerously. You scream just as you drop the makeup bag and are about to roll down the hill, but Trent grabs your hand in time and pulls you back up towards him. You take a few breaths to control your beating heart, then give the music boy a sweet smile.

“Thanks.”

He gives you back one just as you take the makeup bag from the ground. “No problem.”

“And what are you doing with her!?”

You look behind you to see Duncan giving Trent a murderous look while Gwen is frowning in frustration, the boy beside you only giving back a smirk.

“We’re on the same team!”

You don’t have time to say anything to clear the situation that Trent grabs your hand and drags you with him as he runs up, making you almost drop the makeup bag again. He frees you once he notices that you’re both out of Gwen’s and Duncan’s sight, and you give him a hard look.

“Why did you do that?”

“Huh?” He looks back at you in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Why are you enraging my boyfriend?”

“Oh, yeah, that.” His expression turns to an embarrassed one. “Sorry… I guess, I’m… kind of jealous of Gwen is having so much in common with Duncan… I’m sorry if I caused you any problems.”

You shake your head at him. “It’s fine. Just don’t do it again, okay?”

He makes you a salute sign with a grin. “I promise!”

That’s when you notice that the two of you are catching up to Izzy, and so Trent gets out his girlfriend’s necklace out of his shirt to talk to its ‘spirit’.

“Come on, lucky necklace. Papa Trent needs you.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him just as Izzy laughs out loud.

“Wow! I thought _I_ was crazy! You’re talking to jewelry?”

Trent squints her eyes at her. “You  _ are _ crazy! I’m just trying to help our team win this thing!”

He gets a sprint boost to get away from the ginger-haired girl.

“Hey! That’s what I’m trying to do too! If you got some lucky earrings, I’d be glad to have a little chat with ‘em, eh?”

Izzy looks back at you with a wild grin, expecting you to get in with her jokes, but you just sigh and continue to run to the top of the fake mountain, hoping that this challenge will be over soon.

* * *

Once you’ve dropped the makeup bag on top of the mountain, you come back at the bottom of the hill almost out of breath, most of your team members already staring at the mini trailer with anxiety.

“ _It’s neck and neck, people!_ ” You look around to try and spot Chris, but soon abandon the idea and guess he’s at the top of the mountain when you fail to do so. “ _Bring up the heavy stuff!_ ”

Trent arrives running behind you just after this, the boy trying to take control back on his breathing before he looks at the mini trailers.

“How the heck are we going to get those trailers all the way up the hill?”

He gives you a look, expecting you to have a great idea, but since your mind is completely blank, you just shrug.

_ And honestly, even if I had an idea, I wouldn’t tell you guys. I want you to kick me off, not praise me. _

Lindsay raises a finger as she smiles happily. “I have a great idea!”

* * *

“It’s _so_ great to be free from Heather.” Lindsay puts her arms up in the air while looking at the camera. “I can totally contribute more and stuff! I have a lot of unwrapped potentials, you know.”

* * *

“Let’s get Tyler to do it!”

You all give the blond a hard look. “ _ He’s not here anymore! _ ”

“Oh, right!” She rubs her hand against her arm, a little embarrassed. “Bummer...”

You look back at Owen when his stomach grumbles and the big blond smiles shyly back at all of you.

“Owen!” Trent gives out a grin before he points at the fake mountain behind him. “There’s caterer at the top of the hill. Just take that trailer up there with you and you can eat!”

You’re not gonna lie.

That is kind of a brilliant idea.

“Eat?” Owen’s eyes sparkle with joy. “I love eat!”

In less time than you would think, the big blond unbuckles his belt to attach it to the trailer and also wrap it around his head, the boy soon screaming at the top of his lungs before he runs up like a maniac. You can’t help but smile wildly when you see him run up the hill with the trailer following right behind, Izzy and Trent soon following him as close as possible. Though the music boy turns his head back to look at Gwen and Duncan with a smirk, his grin only widening more and more as he talks.

“Hey, new best friends! How do you like that? You’re gonna cry together, you punk wannabes? Cause your team is going down!”

The whole team of the blue-haired girl gasps in shock.

“Uh, not cool.” Duncan crosses his arms over his chest. “Not cool at all.”

You can’t help but giggle at that, gaining the attention of your boyfriend.

“You think it’s funny, babe?”

“Sorry, kind of.” You give his cheek a quick peck before running up just as the rest of your team joins Trent on the hill. “Good luck getting your trailer up there, guys!”

The last thing you see is Duncan playfully rolling his eyes at you with a grin while Gwen stares at Trent in frustration.

Looks like your team might get the first win of the day.

* * *

“ _Owen! Owen! He’s our guy!_ ” Beth jumps up and down beside an Owen trying to climb up the hill with the trailer despite losing his pants, the girl having pink pom-poms in her hands. “ _If he can’t do it, well…_ um...”

You put your fists up in the air as you continue her song. “ _ He’s not our guy!  _ Woohoo! You can do it, Owen! Think about all the food!”

The big blond tries to ignore the fact that his pants have fallen on his legs a little earlier and he tries to walk faster despite them, the thought of eating as much food as he wants motivating him more than anything in the world. You, Beth and Izzy, seeing that he’s almost done, hurry up to join the rest of your team and welcome him on the top of the hill. As soon as he arrives and falls unto the ground in agony, you all jump up and down while screaming happily.

“Woohoo! Yeah!” Beth smile gets wider. “We actually won!”

You stop jumping up and down and lose your smile.

_ Oh fuck, how am I gonna get kicked off if I can’t get voted off? _

“Well...” You look back at Chris, who’s giving you all his usual ‘I know something you don’t’ smile. “… not… exactly...”

Beth gives him a shocked look, her arms still up in the air. “Pardon?”

“That was only the first part of the challenge.” He grabs Beth’s arms to put them down. “Did I neglect to mention that?”

While your whole team looks down in disappointment, you can’t help but feel relieved when you hear his words. You still have another chance to get kicked off today.

But for that, you’ll need to sabotage today’s challenge, and you’re not sure you’ll be able to do that.

* * *

“It’s time to make a movie.” You sit down on your team’s platform set just as Chris points at it. “And what we’ve got here is a set of a tier-joker, starring an elderly lady considering her long life.”

Trent rolls his eyes. “Boring!”

_ Yeah, with that kind of movie, I won’t even need to sabotage it at all. _

Chris turns towards Gwen’s team, who are now all standing on their own platform set.

“You’ll be making a feature about a thug, who tries to go straight but can’t resist the lure of the streets!”

Gwen quirks an eyebrow at the host. “Yeah… um… it’s been done?”

_ Like a thousand times. _

Bald Heather suddenly appears in front of her team with a hard look.

“What about lunch!? We’ve been working for _eight_ hours and **you** are legally obligated by Union rules to give us a meal break!”

Chris squints his eyes at her. “Oh yeah? Who here is in the Union?”

The host puts his hand up in the air while everyone stares back at him in disbelief, Chris then looking back at you with a wild grin.

“Yeah.” He puts his hand back down, too proud. “I thought so.”

* * *

“I am hereby forming local Union workers against Chris.” Heather looks around the makeup booth with a smile. “Who’s with me? Everybody??”

* * *

“And now it’s time to choose an actor to perform a scene!” Chris looks back at Chef, who’s smiling wildly while holding two envelopes. “Chef, give the teams their scenes!”

The ex-soldier instantly shoves one of the envelopes in Trent’s chest, the music boy taking it in his hands soon after and start reading it.

“Alright… we need an old lady.” He looks back at you with a smile. “(Y/N)? How about you?”

You don’t have time to say anything that Izzy runs up in front of him.

“ _Oh, please! Let **me** do it! It’s gotta be me!_” She looks back in forth between Trent and the rest of her team. “I’ve got an old soul! I’m like eighty-seven years old on the inside because I’ve been reincarnated, like a whole bunch of times! Actually, I’m the reincarnation of my very own granny Mavis!”

She gets in Trent’s space while making a weird face, and you can tell that she’s about to make an impersonation when the music boy stops her.

“Um… I think (Y/N) would be-”

“Izzy can do it!” You smile wildly, not wanting to be the actress for such a boring movie. “She seems rather motivated, I’m sure she’s gonna be great.”

Her smile widens at your words and she looks back at Trent’s expectantly. He ends up sighing at her, then shrugs.

“Alright… if (Y/N) says so...”

“ _Yes!_ ” The ginger-haired girl jumps up and down while screaming before she gives you a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You’re...” You manage to take in a big breath. “… welcome…!”

She frees you when she notices that she’s almost killing you.

“Oops.. hahaha… sorry...”

“ _Alright! Set up the shot!_ ” You all look back at Chris to see him holding his usual megaphone. “ _Whoever can make Chef, mister ex-army corporal, to show any emotion wins the challenge!_ ”

As soon as you see Chef sit down on a chair in front of a screen, Trent turns back towards all of you and raises a finger. “Does everyone agree that (Y/N) will be the director of the movie?”

Most of your teammates nod in agreement and you give them a shocked look.

“What? Why me?”

Justin quirks an eyebrow at you. “Didn’t you say that you had experience in the movie production?”

You feel your neck starting to sweat. “Um… yes, but...”

“Okay, that’s settled!” Trent gives you the paper with all the instructions on it. “Just tell us what to do, director.”

“Um… Um...”

Beth puts her hand on your shoulder. “Don’t worry, (Y/N). I’m sure you’ll do great!”

You stare back at her for a few seconds, your heart beating up faster and faster. You can’t be the director! You’re a perfectionist. Which means that you’ll do whatever it takes to make the most perfect movie in the world’s history, even if the story itself sounds rather crappy. Which also mean that you might make your team win this challenge, and therefore not get kicked off.

Then again, you sometimes get a little… overboard. And your story  _ is _ very crappy… so maybe you’ll lose no matter what and get a high chance of getting voted off…?

Your lips stretch out in an evil grin, and you let your eyes linger on the script as you form a plan in your head.

“Alright! Izzy-” You hand her the script and she takes it gladly. “-learn your lines by heart.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Beth! Go take care of the lightning. I want it to be bright like a sun, but I want you to be ready to turn it red as soon as I give you the cue.”

“Red?” She gives you a slightly scared look. “But, why-”

“Don’t question it, just do it!”

She rapidly nods and then goes climbing the platform set to try and take care of the light, and so you turn to the rest of your teammates.

“Lindsay, you take care of the makeup.”

She applauds happily. “Yeaaah!”

“Make Izzy look like a sweet granny, which means you have to make her _look_ old, not like a top model.”

She pouts. “Awn… I wanted to make her pretty.”

“Not today! Justin!” You point at the pretty boy while Lindsay runs to take out the makeup bag. “I want you to hold the mic above Izzy’s head _and_ out of the frame. Do you think you can do that?”

He scoffs. “Um… how about I  _ observe _ you guys do it instead, huh?”

He bats his eyelashes at you, expecting to melt under his beauty.

Instead, you grab his ear between your fingers and forces him to get his head closer to yours.

“ _ **Do you want to make me angry?**_ ”

“Ow! N-no! I’ll do it! Please, let go!” He grabs his red ear as soon as you free it, the model giving you the stink eye right after. “How dare you-”

“Move! Move! Move!” You start clapping your hands at him and he runs to grab the microphone attached to the boom pole, now scared of you. “We don’t have all day, people!”

You turn back towards Trent and Owen and you point at the big blond. “Owen, you’re gonna sound check.”

“Wouhou!” He runs behind you to go sit behind the movie panel and put his earphones on his head. “Let’s do this, people!”

“Um...” Trent raises a finger and you turn back to him. “What do you want me to do?”

“Oh, right. Um… maybe you could help Beth?”

He nods and goes to help the girl with the lightening while you go sit beside Owen, wanting to take an overall look of the set. You smile in contentment when you Justin reluctantly hold the mic over Izzy’s and Lindsay’s heads, the blond looking like she’s almost done with makeup.

“Your makeup… gorgeous! And now, I’m gonna make you _feel_ like an old lady!”

“ _Look_ like an old lady, Lindsay! Don’t make me repeat myself!”

The blond loses her smile as soon as you say this, then she gives you an awkward one and forces Izzy to crawl down like an old lady before going back to the makeup stuff. The ginger-haired girl squints her eyes at Beth, who seems to have difficulties holding the light at the same place.

“I feel like eighty years have passed since they started to adjust the lightning!”

“Don’t...” Beth sticks out her tongue in concentration. “… move...”

“Oh, don’t worry… I can’t!” Izzy shakes her head while her voice slowly rises in anger. “My legs are totally asleep!”

You turn your head back at Owen when he raises his arm. “Can I get that last line again?”

You give Justin a sign to slightly lower the mic, which he does, but your eyes widen when the ginger-haired girl grabs it in her hand and pulls it to her face.

“ _MY LEGS ARE ASLEEP!_ ”

Owen screams in agony beside you and falls from his chair.

“ _ **Izzy!**_ ” You stand up from your chair and walk over to her with your fist on your hips. “Do we need to do a recast?”

She seems to understand by your tone that you’re serious about your proposition and she shakes her head with an awkward smile, the fake wrinkles Lindsay somehow manage to make stretching out as she does so.

“Um… no! I’ll be great, I swear.”

You point at her with a hard look. “Then you better stop that diva attitude,  _ **miss.** _ ”

She nods in agreement and you walk away, not noticing how everyone seems to let out their breath they’ve been holding as soon as you do so.

You’re pretty scary sometimes.

“You are not pretty! Okay, Duncan?” You stop in your tracks to look at the other team, your eyes giving you a vision of Gwen smiling sweetly at your boyfriend. “You are _hot!_ Okay? You look hot! Sexy! Stud-like!”

You can’t help but quirk an eyebrow at that, especially when the punk smirks proudly.

“That’s better!”

You feel your heart sting, your expression turning to a sad one.

Is Gwen flirting with Duncan?

And does he like it?

_ Am I not good enough? _

“Hey, (Y/N).” You turn around just in time to see Trent smile at you, the music boy putting his hand on your shoulder. “Have I mentioned how beautiful and amazing you are?”

You can’t help but smile at him, even though you know he’s only saying that to spite his girlfriend.

“Thanks, Trent.” You put your hand on his own, your eyes sweetening. “You’re not bad yourself.”

You both tense up when you hear papers get teared up behind you, and so you both turn back to the other team to see Duncan staring at you with furious eyes, his script torn up between his hands.

“ **That’s it.** ” He drops the pieces of paper on the ground. “ **You’re dead, man.** ”

Trent gets his hand away from your shoulder and steps back as soon as Duncan starts to walk menacingly towards you two, the punk getting stopped by Gwen and DJ who are both holding him back by his arms.

“Duncan, stop!”

“ _ **No!**_ ”

He tries to get out of their grip, the punk grinding his teeth as his eyes widen from the anger and jealousy. It only takes you one look to see that Trent has disappeared behind the panel set, the rest of your team giving you shrugs before going back to their jobs.

_ Well, thanks for the help, guys. _

“ _ **Let me kill him!**_ ”

“Duncan!” You run over to your boyfriend, soon taking his head between your hands. “Babe, look at me.”

He closes his eyes for a second, only to continue to stare behind.

“ _Look at me._ ”

He turns his attention on you, and you can see the rage in his pupils slightly burn out.

“I love you, Duncan. Okay?” You slowly caress his cheek with your thumb and you feel him relax. “And Courtney too, but that’s beside the point.”

His eyes sweeten and a smirk spreads out of his lips. “I love you too, angel.”

Gwen and DJ free him as soon as they feel that he has stopped struggling, and you can’t help but giggle when the punk wrapped his arms around your form and attacks your face with an army of kisses.

“Ugh, can you stop?” Duncan ignores Heather’s outburst and simply continues to give you kisses. “ _Hello?_ We have the challenge to do? And fraternizing with the enemy doesn’t help!”

Gwen raises a finger. “She’s right, you know?”

He groans in frustration, then gives your lips one last and slightly long kiss before parting away.

“You should go back to your team, babe.”

“That’s true...” You give him a smirk as you step back. “Good luck with studying your lines now.”

Gwen gasps in shock as you walk away. “Wait! Was all of this just a way to sabotage our movie?”

You only laugh as a response, ignoring Heather’s screams as you arrive beside Izzy and Lindsay. The ginger-haired girl is still memorizing her lines while trying not to lose control of her legs, the blond one looking down at the box of different colored tapes.

“There are seven colors on this tape-roll thingy but I don’t know which one to use!” Lindsay looks up at you in confusion. “And what kind of a shape a mark be? Like… an ‘m’ for mark? Or...”

“Just make an ‘x’, Lindsay.” You smile at her then look at all different tapes. “And since the carpet is red, how about you choose the red one? That way it’ll be invisible on camera.”

Lindsay’s eyes widen. “Oh, right! You’re so smart, (Y/N)!”

“Ugh… my legs…” The two of you look back at the ginger-haired girl, who’s starting to lose her balance. “… are starting to tingle! I don’t think I can hold much-”

She falls right unto the ground, her face getting smashed against the carpet.

“… longer.”

Lindsay only puts the red tape right beside her face, not even bothered by the fact one of her teammates just fall.

“ _Awn!_ ” You look up to see Beth give out a frustrated look. “ _We had the lightening **just** right!_”

You’re about to help Izzy get back up when Trent suddenly gets out of his hiding place and walks in front of the set.

“Get back to first positions!”

“ _Hey!_ ” You point at him angrily. “That’s my job, not yours!”

He gives out an awkward smile. “Oh, sorry...”

You squint your eyes at him for a second, making him feel uncomfortable under your stare, then you jump off the set and look back at your team.

“Okay, everyone! Get back to first positions!”

“Ugh, it’s been decades...” Izzy grimaces as she stays on the ground. “Can we just get the ball rolling on my vegetable Best Actress nomination?”

Your eyes harden. “ _ **No.** _ ”

* * *

“Okay, I thought (Y/N) was crazy and cool...” Izzy crosses her arms over her chest as she stares at the camera. “But turns out she’s only crazy! And trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

* * *

“(Y/N) has been kind of scary today...”

Lindsay shares a look with Beth, both girls then looking back at the camera with a slightly scared expression. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“I don’t know… maybe she has something on her mind.”

* * *

“ _And now-_ ” Chris talks through his megaphone while you and your team prepare to make your movie. “ _-time for the final hair and makeup!_ ”

Since Izzy has already memorized her lines, you go through the script for a second time, making sure you haven’t missed anything. “Lindsay, you’re on it?”

The blond makes a salute sign that you don’t even see. “I’m on it, ma’am!”

“Good.” You squint your eyes at the pages. “… why do I feel like they’ve switched the scripts…?”

“ **(Y/N).** ” You jumped up in fear, then look up to see Chef staring at you. “I need to talk to you, do you have a minute?”

“… yeah, sure.” You look back down at the script, not even bothered by him. “But can you make it quick? I still have a lot of things to check before we film.”

He quirks an eyebrow at you, wondering why you’ve been acting so weird since you came back on the show.

“I have a proposition for you.”

“Huh-huh.” You continue to look through the pages, half-listening. “What is it?”

“I want us to be in an alliance, you and me. And when you win, we split the million fifty-fifty.”

You stop reading the script in shock, then you blink a couple of times before looking back up at him.

“… wait, what?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “I think I’ve been pretty clear.”

“But… wouldn’t an alliance with you be… against the rules?”

“Who cares about the rules?” He squints his eyes at you. “Do you accept the offer or not?”

You sigh and put the script aside. “Is this about how Chris hasn’t paid you yet?”

“That’s none of your business!” You quirk an eyebrow at him and he stares back at you in silence for a few seconds. “… but yes, it’s because of that.”

“Look, I’m sorry, Chef, but I’m not interested in winning this season. Like at all.” You go back to reading the script while you walk away from him. “You’re gonna have to find someone else.”

He gives you a shocked look as you leave him behind, the ex-soldier then looking at the camera with the same expression.

* * *

“First Izzy, now (Y/N)...” Chef shakes his head in disbelief. “What is it with these girls not wanting to be in an alliance with me? Who am I supposed to pick now?”

* * *

You arrive back at your set in time to see Lindsay and Beth finishing up Izzy’s costume, the ginger-haired girl now wearing a gray wig, a purple skirt, and a purple hat.

“Wow!” The three girls look back at you just as you take in the ginger-haired girl’s costume. “You don’t look like you!”

“Hi, lassy!” Izzy smiles at you while she talks in a Scottish accent. “That’s on account of me being a master thespian.”

Trent stops beside you and quirks an eyebrow at the girl.

“Just make sure you lose the Scottish burr.” He then smiles and walks away. “Okay, granny McIscope?”

She tightens her fist while staring at his leaving form.

“Personally, I think you should keep the accent.” Her smile comes back on her lips as soon as you say this. “But lose it when you get to the dark parts, okay? It’s gonna add something to it.”

She chuckles evilly. “Yes, director!”

“And Beth!” You point at her with a smile. “It’s when she loses her accent that I want you to turn the lights red, okay?”

“Um…” She hesitantly looks at you, playing with her hand in nervousness. “Okay...”

“Alright! Let’s make a great movie, people!”

* * *

“And that’s...” While Chris is about to give you all the go, you sit down behind the movie console beside Owen and Trent and prepare yourself to do the special effects. “… action!”

You add sweet music while Izzy slowly walks through the set. “Now you listen and you listen good...”

She makes a salute sign. “If a fighter doesn’t go down on the first round, you’ll be sleeping with the fishes!”

You give Beth a sign to turn the lights red for a second while you put on eerie music, everything going back to normal soon after.

“And that’s tough to do because, you know, they have no eyelids and it’s hard to sleep.” She opens her eyes and looks directly at the camera. “I can flip my eyelids! Hey, anyone wants to see me flip them?”

You get hit by conflicted emotions. On one part, you feel your perfectionism screaming in agony because of how Izzy just ruined your whole masterpiece… but on the other side, she might make your team lose this challenge… and so you might have a chance of leaving this place today.

“Okay, Granny Izzy’s nuts, but at least she’s committed.” Trent crosses his arms over his chest while he smirks proudly. “Duncan’s gonna have a hard time beating that.”

_ I’m not so sure about that. _

If you remember some of the… roleplaying... you’ve done in the past, the punk is actually quite good as an actor (not impressive, but quite good).

“ _I’ve lived a long good life_.” You all look at the other team’s set to see Duncan wearing a fedora hat, the punk closing a folder before turning towards the camera. “ _I’ve lived, I’ve laughed… but what I missed of all is my sweet little goat..._ ”

Tears suddenly appear on the corner of his eyes and you feel your heart torn up at the sight.

“ _Shoppah… Oh! Why… Why….!_ ”

You hug yourself as you feel something cold fall down of your cheeks, the sobs soon coming out of your throat as you try to wipe the tears away.

“C-cut!” You somehow notice Chris and Chef in the same position as you, the host trying hard to hide his emotions. “Okay, enough…! It’s too much for Chef to take… Duncan clearly wins for best performance! The Screaming Gaffers win!”

While Duncan takes off his hat with a surprised and confused expression, Izzy takes off her hat to throw it on the floor while screaming out insults at the punk. But the delinquent doesn’t hear her since you’re already running up to him and throwing your arms around his neck, soon hiding your crying face in his chest.

“Awn, did I make you cry, babe?” You slowly nod against his chest while he wraps his arms back around your form and kisses the top of your head. “Is it because of my performance or because you lost?”

You giggle despite the tears, and you slightly part away to give him a small smile.

“I told you you were quite a good actor.”

“Meh, I still believe you say that because you love me.” He uses his thumb to wipe away the tears from your face. “You’re gonna have to vote off someone now.”

_ Hopefully, it’s me. _

You nod. “Yeah, you’re lucky you don’t.”

“I know that.” He gives your lips a second peck. “Join me after the ceremony, alright?”

_ If I’m still here. _

Your smile stretches out. “Alright.”

* * *

You and the rest of your team are sitting on the bleachers while Chris walks on the stage in his blue tuxedo, Chef playing the drums to add more pep to his walk. As soon as the host arrives at his podium, the ex-soldier stops his music, and so the psychopath smiles wildly at all of you.

“ _Now it’s your turn to cast your votes and determine who will stroll down the walk of shame!_ ” You hear your friends gasp upon seeing the limousine that Chris is showing with his hand. “ _Under your seats, you’ll find voting devices. Just press the button of the person you want to be voted off. It’s easy! So… cast your votes! Who will it be? Who will be cast of the set?_ ”

You take the voting device from under your seat, and you’re about to vote from yourself when your stomach twist in guilt.

_ I’ve been pretty mean to my friends today…. haven’t I? _

“Hey, guys?” You take everyone’s attention away from their devices, they eyes lingering on you. “I wanna apologize for my behavior today… I’ve been pretty stressed lately and I’ve taken out my stress on all of you… I’m sorry… but I would perfectly understand if you guys vote me off, so no worries here.”

You look back down at your device and press your button without waiting for their reaction, therefore not seeing most of them smiling back at you sweetly.

“Awn, (Y/N)!” You keep down a scream when you’re getting squeezed into a hug, giving a side look to see that it’s Lindsay and Beth. “We forgive you!”

You give them a shocked expression. “Really?”

“Of course, we do!” Owen puts his arms in the air for a second. “That’s what friends are!”

“And I’ve kind of added to your stress.” Trent gives you a small smile. “So I should be the one who’s sorry.”

You feel your eyes tear up. “Thanks, guys...”

_ I would almost regret trying to get kicked off, now… _

“ _And it looks like all the votes I’ve been cast…_ ” Chris looks back at Chef, who’s taking a printed piece of paper out of a weird machine. “Chef?”

As soon as Chris receives the paper in his hands, he reads it with his usual wide grin before looking back up at you all.

“ _Remember, if you get a Gilded Chris, you get to stay because, rather suitably, the Gilded Chris represents the luster of Fame and Immortal greatness!_ ” He laughs proudly at himself before taking one of the golden statues in his hand and preparing to throw it. “ _And Gilded Chris’ go to..._ ”

He takes a small pause to add more suspense, then throws the little Chris’ as he talks.

“ _Trent! Owen and… Beth!_ ” His smile stretches out as he looks at you all. “ _And now, only four nominees left!_ ”

While your three remaining teammates silently panic, you prepare yourself to get kicked off, waiting for Chris to say your name.

“ _And the loser is…._ ” The host gives the piece of paper one last look before looking back at you all. “ _Izzy!_ ”

Your eyes go wide in surprise. What? Did your friends forgive you that much that they didn’t even try to vote you off? Or maybe you apologized too much in advance?

_ Goddamit. _

Chris points at the limousine. “ _ Time to go! _ ”

“I’m not going anywhere!” The ginger-haired girl crosses her arms over her chest. “ _That_ is not my name!”

The host gives the ex-soldier a confused look.

“Girl likes to be called Kaleidoscope.”

Chris squints his eyes at Izzy, really annoyed now.

“ _Can I get a pen over here?_ ” He catches the flying pen someone throws at him and he writes something on the paper before showing it. “ _Here, it says Iscope now… okay?_ ”

Izzy stands up and walks towards the limousine, a diva expression still settle on her face.

“ _And remember… you can **never** come back- **ever!** ”_ Chris pushes a button and two people looking like asylum’s employees arrive to grab her and pull her towards the limousine. “ _Take her to the limousine!_ ”

They throw her into the vehicle and close the door shut tight, the employees then leaving the red carpet right after. That’s when Izzy stick her head out of the ceiling’s door, the ginger-haired girl waving at you all like she’s a nominated star.

“This was just rehearsal, my darlings!”

She then sends you all kisses while the limousine takes her away, not being able to hear the last part of her speech as she disappears into the night.

“Yeah!” Lindsay throws her arms in the air before hugging you tightly. “We get to stay on the show, (Y/N)!”

“Yeah...” You give out an awkward smile. “That’s fun...”

_ How can I make them vote for me without breaking my values? _


	33. TDA: Beach Blanket Bogus

**4 - Beach Blanket Bogus**

Your face scrunches up in disgust as soon as Chef puts a spoon of the brownish slut onto your plate, the horrible smell trying to scratch your brain by entering your nostrils. Aside from the incredible amount of stress of facing Chris every single day, you have to say that the ex-soldier’s food is pretty high up on the list of the things you hate about this show. You would think that with your unusual food disorder, you would at least get something decent, but since the producers made you sign an additional contract, in which you would have to pay a very high fee if you decide to not eat, you have no choice to eat _whatever_ Chris and Chef throw at you. So there’s no more preferential treatment and quality food for you, miss.

The sound of the brownish slop falling unto another plate makes you turn your head back towards Heather, who’s having the same expression as you.

“Now I know how starlets stay thin.”

“I think you meant ‘starve’.” You eyed the slop suspiciously, thinking you saw it move. “Even if I didn’t have a food disorder, I wouldn’t eat this.”

You feel Chef’s stare on you and you roll your eyes.

“Don’t worry, Chef. I’ll eat it.”

“You better eat it, young lady!” He points his dirty spoon at you, his expression hardening. “I don’t want to see you drop dead on the floor!”

You share a small look with Heather, who surprisingly seems worried about, and you sigh.

“If it makes you guys happy...”

Harold’s head suddenly appeared between you and Heather, the ginger-haired boy looking down at the slop in your plates.

“I wish Chef would have let me in the kitchen...” He looks up at Heather without noticing her annoyance. “I got me some mad culinary skills.”

“ _You mind?_ ” She manages to pass by him, her voice full of anger making his expression falter. “I was talking to (Y/N), not you.”

He pouts as he sees her walk away, then looks back at you. “You know, I bet her life would be easier if she was nicer to everyone.”

A small smile appears on the corner of your lips. “But would she be Heather if she was nice?”

“She’s nice to you.” You scoff, making him quirk an eyebrow. “What?”

“I think she’s just tolerating me, buddy.”

You tap his shoulder before you turn towards the tables, Heather sitting alone at one of them. You notice that she’s staring sadly at Lindsay and Beth walking away towards the other table, the bald girl’s hand stopped in mid-air after an empty wave. You can’t help but feel bad for her, even though she kind of deserve this treatment after what she put your friends through, and so you decide to sit in front of her and smile.

Also, if the others associate you with Heather, your chances of getting kicked off will get higher… right?

“What are you doing?”

You stop the spoon full of the repugnant slot from going into your mouth, your eyes going back to a bald Heather staring at you.

“Um… I’m eating?”

“Not that, you idiot. What are you doing sitting _here_?” A proud smile appears on her lips before you can answer. “Have you perhaps realized that _I’m_ the smartest one around here and that I’m also the most qualified to take you to the finals?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, sweetie. I don’t care about winning because it’s a million dollars.” You take a bite of the slot and almost cringe at the horrible taste, then gulp. “I’m just here to keep you company for a while in this dark world.”

She slightly loses her smile, then looks down at her plate with a frustrated pout.

“I don’t need your pity.”

“Of course you don’t. And that’s not what I’m offering.”

She eyed you suspiciously. “What are you offering then?”

Your smile stretches out at her question. “Everyone needs a friend, Heather. And if you’re to repulsed by the idea, I’m willing to be that for you.”

She blankly stares at you for a while, her brain probably processing what you just said to her, and she rolls her eyes.

“You’re really are an idiot...” She uses her spoon to take some of her slot, her cheeks slowly turning to red. “… my friend.”

You can’t help but grin wildly at her words.

“ _Don’t_ grin like that or I’m taking it all back!”

You only chuckle at her, finding her tsundere act kind of cute. You’re about to continue the conversation with her when Gwen arrives with her plate, the blue-haired girl smiling wildly when she sees you at her team’s table.

“Hey, (Y/N)! How are you?”

“Back off, Gwen!” Heather squints her eyes at the goth girl before she can sit even remotely in front of you. “We’re having a conversation and you’re _not_ invited!”

“Um… diva much?” Gwen sits down with a certain distance between her and Heather, the bald-haired girl’s expression turning to an angry one as she does so. “(Y/N) is my friend, I’ll talk to her if I want.”

“Well, she’s also _my_ friend!”

The blue-haired laughs. “Who would be friends with you?”

You notice a spark of hurt flashing through Heather’s eyes, and so you decide to intervene before the situation gets worse.

“I would.” Gwen gives you a surprised expression while Heather smiles proudly, and you shrug under her stare. “I mean, why not? We had some nice moments in the past.”

“You had some nice moments with _her_?”

“Jealous, Gwen?” Heather’s smile turns to a smirk. “How does it feel to know that we hang out more than you two ever did?”

The blue-haired girl tightens her grip on her spoon. “ _ **Oh, you-**_ ”

“Sheesh, I came at the right moment, didn’t I?” You turn your head with a wide smile at the sound of Duncan’s voice, the punk giving your cheek a small kiss as soon as you do so. “Good morning, babe.”

“Good morning.” Your heart warms up when he sits down beside you and puts his arm around your shoulders, his presence somewhat having shushed Heather and Gwen.

“Oh, _nice.”_ Heather rolls her eyes and goes back to her food. “Punk criminal’s here.”

Gwen sends her a hard look. “Will you quiet for a while?”

… or not.

You ignore them and focus on your boyfriend. “You took a while to arrive. What were you doing?”

He grins evilly. “Oh. Just doing some… stuff. You’ll see.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him, already wondering what kind of prank or illegal thing he must have done. His grin just widens at your reaction, which doesn’t help the uneasy feeling in your chest. You notice how he looks behind you for a small second, and so you turn your head just in time to see Trent about to pour salt on his plate, the salt shaker soon opening to drop its entire content right over his ‘food’.

And from hearing Duncan laughing like a maniac, you guess that this is what he meant by “doing some stuff.”

“Ha-ha!” While Duncan points at him with a wide grin, Trent sends the punk back a death glare from his place. “Sorry for the morning a- _salt_!”

You would almost laugh at his bad pun if he didn’t cut off by Gwen slapping the back of his head, the girl making _you_ giggle instead upon seeing your boyfriend’s surprised expression. When he looks back at the blue-haired girl for an explanation, she crosses her arms over her chest with a hardened expression on her face.

“Third-grade called, you’re due back in class.”

He rolls his eyes and smirk, not at all impressed. “Awn, come on! That was funny! Right, babe?”

You don’t have time to answer that Trent’s already talking.

“Real mature!” The music boy shakes his head in disappointment. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to spill salt?”

It takes a handful of salt and throws it over his shoulder, just like you would do to conjure bad luck, and it lands right into Heather’s eyes. The bald girl stands up while closing her eyes from the pain, her action somehow making it worse and forcing her to scream at the top of her lungs. She opens her eyes wide, which are now red, and you toss her a clean napkin that you took with you for lunch earlier.

“Thanks.” She grabs it and puts it over her eyes, trying her best to put away her salty tears while you nod.

“You’re welcome.”

Duncan approaches his head to yours so he can whispers. “Why are you being nice to her?”

You slightly turn your head towards him and smile at him. “Because we’re friends.”

He quirks an eyebrow at that, probably wondering why in the world you would be friends with Heather, but Trent talks before the punk can say anything.

“Nothing a little pepper won’t fix.”

Duncan’s lips stretch out into an evil grin as soon as Trent grabs the pepper pot, and he laughs out loud as soon as the pot opens up and pours a huge amount of pepper on the music boy’s plate. Trent gasps in horror upon the sight of it and instantly grabs a handful of the pepper to throw it behind his shoulder, Heather having put away the napkin from her eyes just in time to receive it right in her face.

“A-choo! A-choo! A-choo!” When her sneezes calm down, her eyes watered again from the pain. “Aaaaaah!”

She runs out of the tent before you can even offer to help her, and you notice your boyfriend standing up from his place and going over to Trent while laughing.

“Hahahahaha!” He stops beside the music boy and then looks at his plate. “You’re still gonna finish those eggs, bro?”

Duncan takes a piece off Trent’s place and eats it before he can even protest, the music boy’s eyes going wide in horror.

“Are you nuts!? Now I only have eight pieces left!”

You sigh and turn your head towards Gwen, only to see her frowning at the exchange. You turn your attention back towards the boys just in time to see Duncan quirk an eyebrow at Trent.

“Nuts? Dude!” He forms the letter ‘W’ with his hands. “You’re officially capital double-u weird!”

“Well, good!” Gwen runs over to them and puts her hands on Trent’s shoulders, giving Duncan a hard stare before giving her boyfriend a small smile. “Because _I_ happen to love weird.”

You get to join them just as the blue-haired girl eats a bite off Trent’s plate.

“There. Now you got seven pieces, which is an odd number again.” Her small smile turns to a sweet one. “Isn’t that kind of better?”

Trent stares back at her eyes with a dreamy expression. “Abso-Gwen-ly.”

Duncan shakes his head in disbelief at the couple, and you give his shoulder a small hit just as you arrive beside him.

“Let them have their moment.” You point your finger at his chest, your lips creating a small smirk. “I remember you getting a little cheesy from time to time.”

He instantly grins back and wraps his arms around your back. “You mean like this?”

You can’t help but start laughing out of surprise when he lifts you the ground and turns around fast, your feet almost touching the table and your arms holding his neck closer to prevent you from accidentally getting thrown away.

“S-stop! Stop, I’m getting dizzy!”

He eventually stops a few seconds later, soon attacking your face with kisses and making you giggle under his touch. He finishes up by grabbing your lips with his while holding each side of your face with his hands, yours landing peacefully on his chest. He parts away to observe your expression, and your heart melts when you see his blue eyes transmitting his love for you.

“Nothing’s too cheesy with you.”

You let a grin spread on your face. “Even for a criminal like you?”

He chuckles. “Even for me, but let’s try to keep it a secret.”

You don’t have the time to remember him that you’re all on a reality TV show that a loud whistle interrupts your thoughts, your head turning at the entrance to see none other than Chris holding a surfboard under one of his arms.

“Hang on to your coconuts, players!” The host replaces his sunglasses onto his nose without losing his smile. “We’re going _back_ to the _beach!_ ”

Owen instantly cheers happily at the sound of that, while you feel your heart sink in your chest and your brain drown in the guilt. You know it’s unfair to not tell Chris that his lost daughter is alive, that it’s you, but if you tell him, who knows what’s going to happen to you and your family? There’s a too high chance for them to go to prison because they’ve kept you instead of calling the police, even though they _did_ call the police. And who knows if Chris wasn’t as crazy as your biological mother? Sure, you don’t remember much of him, only one memory where he said you’ll be a star one day after seeing your drawings, but all the time you spend on his show proves to you that he might be an unstable person.

Then again, maybe he’s like that because life took you away from him.

You can’t help but feel thankful when Duncan wraps in arms around your torso and puts his chin on your shoulder, his presence already calming you as you listen to what your biological father is about to say.

“Ever seen one of those nineteen-fifties surfer movies where the kids get up for neato fun before the big bonfire twist at dawn and the bully kicks the sandcastle in the nerdy guy’s face?”

_Why does that sound familiar?_

You frown in confusion, trying to remember where you heard about such a movie, and you almost don’t notice how everyone is just looking at Chris like he has lost his mind.

“Uh… _no_ , grandpa.” You slightly move your head to be able to see your boyfriend’s annoyed expression. “We **haven’t.** ”

You’re not so sure about that.

“ _Well_ , get ready to **recreate** one, junior!” Chris grins slightly turn to an evil one. “Two challenges followed by a tie-breaker if necessary! So… grab your swimsuits!”

He then turns around and walks towards the tent’s exit, everyone soon standing up from their place and leaving to go get their swimsuits.

“Well, looks like we have to go.” You give out a small smile when Duncan kisses your shoulder before freeing you. “See you later, babe.”

“See you.” You watch him leave the tent as you stay in place, your arms soon crossing over your chest while your brain still tries to remember where you heard about the beach movie. “… _what was it…?_ ”

Your head suddenly hurts, and your eyes go wide as you get back a memory.

* * *

“ _Look, papa!” You point at a TV screen where a group of teens has just made a giant sandcastle, and the bully of the movie is walking towards it with an evil grin. “He’s gonna destroy the castle!”_

“ _Oh, you think?” You look beside you to see Chris smiling like a maniac, finding your reaction quite funny. “Why is that?”_

“ _Because he’s evil!” You gasp when the bully kicks the sandcastle right into your favorite character’s face, then you squint your eyes at the bully. “Evil! Evil, evil, evil, evil!”_

_Chris chuckles and ruffles his hand through your hair. “Do you like the movie, (Y/N)?”_

_Your eyes light up and you grin happily. “Yes!”_

“ _Good! Because it’s my favorite.”_

“ _It’s my favorite too!”_

_His smile stretches out at your words and he points at the screen just in time to show you the bully getting thrown a bucket of cold water._

“ _Ha-ah!” You applaud the movie with your tiny hands. “Now he’s gonna freeze!”_

_Chris grins at your reaction. “He should have brought a jacket, huh?”_

* * *

“(Y/N), are you- _ **achoo!**_ ” You jumped up in shock and turn your head at Heather, who’s staring at you annoyingly. “-gonna come or what- _ **achoo!**_ ”

You flutter your eyes as you come back to your senses, then shake your head to dismiss the memory.

“I’m coming.”

You’ll think about that memory later, for now, you have the challenge to fail.

And for some reason, you think you might need to bring a jacket instead of a swimsuit.

* * *

You were right about the jacket.

Turns out the first challenge is inside a movie set with giant fans, which are blowing the coldest winds you’ve ever experience in your entire life. While you’re wearing a swimsuit just like the rest of your friends, you’ve got the slight advantage of wearing a large black hoodie on top of it, which gives you a little more warmth than others.

But it doesn’t mean you’re still not freezing.

“W-when-” Lindsay shakes heavily as she tries to put on sunscreen. “-did y-you guys moved the b-beach to A-Antarctica?”

Chris, wearing a large white winter coat and heavy boots, stares back at her in disbelief.

“As _some_ of you can see, we’re actually at the shooting studio.”

Duncan hugs himself to try and get more warmth. “And the AC’s cranked because?”

“All the cameras and lights get so hot-” The host points at Chef wearing a green scarf and hat. “-they could melt Chef’s heart.”

The ex-soldier waves back at you all with a crazy happy smile.

“And the network told my agents that sweaty wasn’t a good look for me.”

_That sounds more like the real reason._

“Your first challenge-” The host points his hand engulfed in a mitt towards a tub full of freezing water, an electrical surfboard sticking out of it. “-hang ten this deck into the big blue without swallowing tail in the soup.”

Leshawna points at him angrily. “ _What did you just asked me to do?_ ”

Trent immediately goes into action and puts his hand on her shoulder.

“He means… whoever stays on the surfboard the longest wins!”

“Exact-o-mondo, groovy cats!” Chris grins wildly, totally ignoring your panic expression. “So? Who goes first?”

“Um… Chris?” You raise your shaky hand in the air, trying to not let your beating awfully fast heart stop you from talking to him. “I have a question?”

The host's smile stretches out. _Finally,_ you’re speaking to him. He was starting to think you might have been broke or something.

“Yes, (Y/N)?”

“I still don’t know how to swim.”

He chuckles evilly. “Well, too bad! That’s the challenge.”

Your eyes widen in fear, not wanting to risk dying again.

“ _But…_ you can still declare a forfeit if you want. That’ll cost your team a chance to win.”

That’s… not a bad idea. If you declare forfeit and your team loses, you might get kicked off the show!

“She’ll try her best!” You frown in confusion when Trent talks before you can even say a word, the boy then smiling at you awkwardly. “Right, (Y/N)?”

“But-”

“Yeah, she’ll try!”

You give him a shocked look, not believing he’s not letting you decide your fate. I mean, it’s not even a question of getting kicked off or not, you could die again!

“Great!” Chris chuckles at you expression before continuing to explain the challenge. “The team that wins will get a head-start on the next challenge! _And…_ giving tonight’s reward… you should be working harder than Justin’s abs over who gets first shot!”

“ _Dude._ ” You whisper angrily at Trent, your body still trembling despite the hoodie. “ _Why did you say I’ll try? I could die!_ ”

“ _Do you think we’ll let you drown?_ ” He gives you a sweet smile to comfort and encourage you. “ _We’re all your friends here. And I’m pretty sure Duncan will instantly jump in there if you ever fall._ ”

You can’t help but agree with that.

“ _Still-_ ” You slightly pushes him back with your finger. “ _Don’t decide things for me again._ ”

He gives you a thumbs up. “ _I got you, don’t worry._ ”

“We have a volunteer!”

Surprised, you look back at Chris to see Harold standing right beside him, the ginger-haired boy getting a stick of ice out of his back that someone must have thrown at him. Judging by the look of guilt on Lindsay’s face, you’re guessing that she finally managed to squeeze out the sunscreen and it accidentally pushed Harold in the front.

“Mad surfing skills...” You turn your attention back on the ginger-haired boy to see him standing on the surfboard with determination. “… activated!”

“ _And_ please welcome the return of some season one fan-favorite...” Chris grins evilly at the camera, like usual. “… the sharks!”

Harold screams as he tries to avoid getting bitten by one of the man-eating sharks, but without any success since the shark gets a hold of his derriere.

* * *

“I’m very protective of my buttocks.” Harold uncrosses his arms as he looks at the camera. “They provide me with the low center of gravity that is the key to my many mad skills. You could say they’re my hugest… _ass_ -ets. Check it!”

He stands up and turns around, showing off his butt cheeks.

“I can juggle my magic Steve’s magical trading cards!”

* * *

Harold holds unto the ceiling’s lights, one of the sharks still trying to eat him even though he’s very high up.

“My booty and I are out!”

Leshawna quirks an eyebrow. “You’re _booty_ has an opinion?”

Heather rolls her eyes. “That such a big job for such a saggy sad little thing.”

“I’ll have you know this is a selfless act! My lady fans couldn’t handle the loss of this perfect behind!”

The bald-haired girl scoffs. “And by ‘Lady fans’, he means his mother!”

You snort at that, gaining a proud smirk from Heather herself when she hears you.

“Hey, sharks! Look!” Harold points at Owen at the end of the group, holding a plate of food. “Bacon and facon!”

Owen smiles wildly without even getting affected by the cold. “Breakfast should last all day, no?”

The sharks get their heads out of the water to beg Owen to give them food the best that they can, Harold then taking the opportunity to let himself fall from the ceiling, only to land on the dive right in front of Chris.

“ _Ooooh..._ ” The host giggles at the sight of Harold’s broken back. “Wait to stick to _this_ mat, bro.”

You hear Heather, Gwen, and Duncan laugh in their spot, and you give them a long look before staring down at your feet. Damn Trent for not letting Gwen choose you instead of him. You would have been in the same team as your boyfriend and best friends instead of competing against them. But at least he also seems sad for the same reason as you, since he can’t seem to get time to bond with his girlfriend anymore. Beth notices his sad expression and gives him a purple bracelet that she probably made herself.

“Friendship bracelet?”

He instantly takes it and starts slightly hitting his head with it while counting.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine! Aaaah….” He lets his arms fall beside him, his expression turning to a calm one. “Much better.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him while Beth steps back in fear and disappears in the group.

“You’re a superstitious person, aren’t you?”

Trent turns his head at you and giggles. “Is that obvious?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.” You give out a smile and tilt your head at him. “I think it’s fine as long as you don’t get too obsessed with it. So try not to let it get to your head, okay?

“Thanks.” He puts the purple bracelet around his wrist so he can wear it. “I’ll try my best with it.”

You both then turn your attention back on the surfer board to watch different contestants have their take on the challenge, the first one being Lindsay. Of course, the blond is doing a good job (especially when you remember the ski-water challenge she won last season), that is until Chris adds the tornado special effect and she gets thrown against the wood panel behind the freezing pool.

_Ouch. That must have hurt._

Then it’s DJ’s turn, and he only has time to stand on the surfboard for a few seconds before one of the sharks eat his swimsuit, the boy soon running out of the studio while hiding his intimate parts.

_Well, that was horrifying._

Next is Owen, and just as you would expect, the surfboard cracks under his pressure and he falls into the water so hard that _everything_ (including the sharks) falls out of the pool and gets thrown into the cement pavement.

“ _Oh man!_ ” Owen opens a side door from inside the pool and steps out, a guilty expression on his face. “ _Oh, crud!_ Sorry shark dudes, really, I’m _so_ sorry!”

The same whistle sound you heard earlier this morning is being heard, and you all turn your attention to Chris looking back at the camera.

“Break time! Union rules!”

Heather puts her fist on her hips. “ _Finally!_ ”

Chris shakes his head. “I don’t mean you, shark bait.”

* * *

You stare in disbelief at the two sharks sitting in chairs with pink towels around their ‘necks’, both of them drinking cocktails and eating shrimps Chef’s giving them on a silver plate. You turn your attention back on Gwen just as she giggles, noticing that she’s now standing on the surfboard.

“No sharks equals no problem!”

She loses her smile once she notices Chris pointing a giant gun at her with seagulls as a munition.

“ _I love this game!_ ”

He instantly shoots at her, and the blue-haired girl tries her best to avoid the seagulls until one of them hits her on the face and stays there.

“ _Aaah!_ Sky wreck! Get it out! _Get it out!_ ”

She falls into the water soon after, letting the next contestant (apparently it’s Justin) get his turn with the sharks back in the pool.

“Yeah!” Lindsay puts her fist up in the air. “Go, Justin!”

“Yeah!” Beth smiles brightly. “Go!”

The blond squints her eyes at her friend and puts her fists on her hips. “Copycat!”

Beth loses her smile. “Thinner-rexic!”

Both girls gasp in shock, and Lindsay looks down at the ground in sadness.

“Sorry...” The nerdy girl shows her wrist full of handmade bracelets. “… friendship bracelet?”

You approach your head to hers. “I don’t think a friendship bracelet is gonna be enough.”

But she doesn’t seem to hear you as her and Lindsay both turn their attention back on Justin, who’s posing like the model he is and even making the sharks fall in love with his looks.

“So perfect...” Chris looks at the camera with a smile. “Almost makes me believe in the inherent goodness of the human race!”

His expression darkens, memories going through his head as he recharges his seagull gun.

“ _ **Almost.**_ ”

Your eyes go wide at his words just as Beth give Justin a desperate look.

“ _Justin!_ ”

* * *

“The longer I stay here, the more I feel guilty and confused...”

You hold your head and sigh, stopping the tears from going out of your eyes.

“ _I just wanna go home._ ”

* * *

Beth gives the camera a sad look. “I wanted to tell Justin he looked like a surfing god…”

She looks down at the makeup table.

“But instead I said-”

* * *

“ _Your face!_ ” Beth tightens her fists. “ _Watch your beautiful face!_ ”

But it’s too late, the good looking model is already screaming as he gets hit by a seagull right in the face and gets thrown in the water, both sharks looking like they’re gasping in shock. In less time than you can think, one of them is taking Justin out of the pool and giving him the mouth to mouth resuscitation and saving him. You stare at the situation in shock, but none of the others seem bothered by it since Lindsay and Beth both leave your side to go and see if the model is fine.

“Oh my god, Justin, are you oka-”

Beth gets interrupted by the shark pushing them away violently.

“Love is a beautiful thing.” Chris smiles brightly as he turns his face to you. “(Y/N)! It’s your turn!”

You can feel the warmth leave your face as its draining of colors.

You don’t want to do this.

“Hey.” Trent puts his hand on your shoulder, a comforting smile on his lips. “You’ll be fine. We all have your back.”

You know you can believe him.

But when you look back at Chris, you can only think of one thing.

_I need to get out of here._

“I’m sorry. I-I can’t.” You intensely shake your head, tears falling out of the corner of your eyes. “I can’t do it! I’m declaring forfeit.”

“You jumped off a giant cliff right into deep water last season...” Chris quirks an eyebrow, a little confused. “But you refuse to stand on a surfboard over a small pool filled with sharks?”

_If it’ll get me kicked off, yes._

“Yes.” You hold yourself tighter, then look at Trent beside you. “I’m sorry… I just can’t risk dying again.”

Trent sighs, but he eventually smiles at you.

“It’s fine, (Y/N). I shouldn’t have pushed you to do it in the first place.”

“ _Bo-ring!_ ” Chris rolls his eyes in annoyance, then shrugs. “But whatever. I guess we’ll have Duncan over here instead.”

That’s when you notice your boyfriend sending Trent a dark look, the punk guy pushing him away from you and right unto the pavement cement on his way over to the pool.

“ _Ow!_ ”

“I’m watching you, man.” He points at the music boy menacingly while you help him get up from the ground. “One wrong move and you’re dead.”

You sigh in annoyance while Trent rubs his head to stop the pain. Why is your boyfriend acting like you’re gonna get steal away from him? You and Trent are _just friends_ , final point. Seriously, he’s been acting way worse than some of Courtney’s jealousy outbursts last season.

Oh god, you miss her so much.

“Finally! We have Duncan!” Chris smiles wildly when the punk boy stands on the surfboard. “Try not to get your piercings wet!”

Duncan rolls his eyes at the host and easily avoids all the seagulls he shots at him, ending up even punching one of them right in the face. Mad, Chris turns his head behind him to try and spot other types of munition and ends up throwing a chair and a light at the punk. You relax when you see him avoid them rather easily, Chris now trying his best to find another thing to throw.

“Ow...” Lindsay walks over to the host while holding her head, his eyes lightening up when he sees her. “My head!”

You don’t know if she was expecting to get some help from Chris, but you’re pretty sure she wasn’t expecting to get thrown towards Duncan and end up hitting the wood panel for the second time today. Speaking of the punk, he looks back at the host with a frustrated expression, tired of avoiding things from him.

“You gotta be kidding me!”

Chris puts his arms up in the air. “And with that, Duncan secures victory for the Screaming Gaffers!”

“Gnarly.” The punk gives out a thumbs up before stepping down from the surfboard and walking towards his cheering team, exchanging a fist bump with Gwen before she hugs him out of happiness. Your eyes open wide from the shock of seeing that, now worried about the blue-haired girl possibly liking your boyfriend again.

No, (Y/N). That’s a completely irrational thought. Stop it.

“Man!” Owen holds his head in disbelief. “Gwen’s team is unstoppable!”

“Try unstable!” Trent tightens his fists as he looks at his girlfriend hugging Duncan. “A ticking time bomb of betrayal! We have to stop them!”

You don’t know if he means stopping them from winning or them getting a little too close, but the rest of your team seems to think the first option as Owen giggles.

“With what? A freight train? Choo-choo!”

Trent takes off the purple bracelet to gently hit his head with it. “ **Five, six, seven, eight, nine.** ”

Owen slightly loses his smile. “Excuse me?”

“ **Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine!** ”

“Um...” The blond quirks an eyebrow at the music boy. “Your secret weapon is being weird?”

Trent squints his eyes at Owen. “If being weird brings us good luck then… yeah! I’m weird!”

He then smiles dreamily as he stares at Gwen from across the room.

“Besides… Gwen _likes_ weird.”

“Trent.” You uncross your arms, worry settling in your brain. “Are you okay?”

He blinks a couple of time before he looks at you, his crazy smile turning down to a sweet one.

“I’m great, (Y/N)! Thanks for asking.”

“If you at home like weird-” Chris’s voice makes you turn your attention to him, simply talking to a camera. “-you’ll _love_ what’s coming up next!”

“I’m telling you!” Trent points at Chris before putting up thumbs up. “Sometimes being weird is cool!”

The host shakes his head. “Delusional. So sad.”

“Weird can be cool.” You give Trent a small smile to encourage him. “It usually depends on the level of weirdness. But I think in your case, you’re _just_ the right amount of weird.”

His eyes sweeten at your words. “Thank you for saying that.”

A familiar glint passes through his eyes, and an alarm goes off inside your head.

Oh no.

Duncan might have a good reason to be jealous.

* * *

“Welcome back to Total Drama Action!” You’re all standing at the entrance of the set of the show in front of Chris, waiting for him to continue his speech for the camera. “Where against all advice to the contrary, players have changed _out_ of their bathing suits. Hope you like swimming in your jeans!”

“ _Right._ ” Heather crosses her arms over her chest while she talks sarcastically. “Because we’re _totally_ going to the beach _this_ time. The bus is just late.”

As soon as she finishes her sentence, a honk is getting heard and you all turn your heads to see the bus arrive beside you.

Needless to say, you’re all shocked.

Chris crosses his arm over his chest, quirking an eyebrow at Heather.

“You were saying?”

* * *

“Chris was saying the truth for once?” Owen laughs as he looks at the camera. “What’s next? Being treated with actual respect?”

* * *

As you and your team all getting inside the bus, Beth gives out different handmade bracelet to all of you.

“A blue bracelet for Lindsay to match her still frozen lips.”

Lindsay takes the bracelet without saying a word and gets inside the bus.

“A green one for Owen because he’s a giant composter.”

The blond takes the bracelet and instantly eats it. “Thanks.”

Beth shrugs as Owen gets inside the bus and turns towards you.

“A pink one for (Y/N) because she’s the heart of our team.”

“Awn, Beth.” You take the bracelet from her and give her a sweet smile. “Thank you so much!”

She giggles happily. “No problem, (Y/N)!”

You wave at her as you get inside the bus, putting the bracelet around your wrist soon after. The color pink might not be your favorite (or maybe it is), but the fact that Beth gave it to you thinking it represented happiness and tenderness makes your chest warm up with love for all your friends.

It would almost make you regret finding a way for them to hate you and kick you off.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” You notice Trent waving at you from a seat before he taps a space beside him. “Wanna sit with me?”

You’re about to say no when you spot Duncan sitting in the back with Gwen, both of them talking and laughing from to time. You feel your heart sting in a hurtful way at the sight, and so you turn your attention back on Trent.

“Sure, why not.” He moves to give you enough space to sit down, and you give him a smile when you do so. “How long do you think the ride’s gonna be?”

“Probably an hour or two…” He mysteriously grins at you. “...if we’re going to where I think we’re going.”

“Oh?” You playfully quirk an eyebrow at him. “Where do you think we’re going?”

He quietly chuckles. “Weirdly, the only place I can think of is Camp Wawanakwa.”

You blink your eyes a couple of times, your brain processing his answer.

“Honestly, you’re probably right.” You let your back fall unto the seat behind you, trying to get comfortable. “Knowing Chris, he would want a private place without spending any money.”

“Yep.” He nods at your explanation, still smiling. “That’s exactly what I thought.”

You grin, taking out an iPod Nano out of your hoodie. “Well, might as well listen to some music while we wait, huh?”

His eyes go wide in surprise. “You brought one of those? Nice!”

You share your headphones with him, letting him choose the first song on your device before switching back and forth for the rest of the ride. The two of you end up having a really good time, telling a few jokes and laughing from time to time.

Of course, none of you notice the stares you get from Gwen and Duncan during your way over to the beach.

* * *

“Yes, campers!” Chris shows off the Camp Wawanakwa beach around all of you, his grin as wide as usual. “We’re actually back at your old stomping grounds… _Total! Drama! Island!_ ”

You ignore the host’s speech to send your boyfriend a small wave from your place, only to gain a hard smile back.

Did you do something wrong?

Chris puts his hands together as he looks at all of you. “If you need to take a moment and reminiscent about the great times you had here...”

There’s a small pause where no one says anything, then you all start to laugh as hard as you ever did in your entire life.

“Fine!” Chris shares a look of annoyance with Chef. “We’ll skip the good memories montage.”

It only takes him a second before he gains his smile back, the host now pointing at Gwen’s team.

“Screaming Gaffers! You’ve got thirty minutes head-start on… the sandcastle building contest!” You quirk an eyebrow in surprise, having expected something more… intense than that. “You’ll be judged by our resident king oh the dunes!”

Just as he says that Chef puts a prop sandcastle hat on his head with a proud grin.

“Make like prop masters, guys, and give me something awesome.” Chris loses his smile to give them a hard and serious look. “I really don’t want the tiebreaker to have to go down. I don’t think the legals approved it yet.”

He points at a prop challenge where a giant rock is getting dropped on a mannequin, instantly crushing it.

Until a car falls from the cliff to land directly on it, which makes you gulp in fear.

Hopefully, you’ll make your team lose and you won’t need this.

…

Wait.

Where are Gwen and Duncan?

* * *

The blue-haired girl giggles quietly as she takes out a part of the bus’ motor.

“There.” She throws it in a bucket Duncan’s holding. “If we’re stuck at the beach, at least we can stay in the cabins. I’d never thought I’d miss them.”

Duncan chuckles as he approaches the motor to do some more work. “I’ve always been more of a dismantler than a builder anyway.”

Gwen smirks. “No, you just love to disrupt the-”

She gets cut off when Duncan gets out a huge piece of the motor and the bus honks non-stop, making her hide her mouth in surprise.

“Stuff!” She looks at the sky with a scared expression. “I was gonna say stuff!”

Duncan laughs as he closes the bus’ hood.

“We should disconnect the horn too.”

* * *

Chris smiles as he looks at his watch. “Three! Two!”

Chef blows inside a trumpet to signify the end of the Screaming Gaffers head-start.

“Thank you, Chef.” The host looks down at the team, their sandcastle looking like it’s already complete. “Screaming Gaffers, your thirty-minute lead is over! So-”

He walks over to your team’s side, his eyes trailing on the music boy.

“-Trent, dude. Get castling!”

“ _Water!_ ” Owen picks two buckets and runs around in panic. “ _We need water!_ ”

Lindsay raises a finger while smiling. “I’ll hit the mountain streams!”

You quirk an eyebrow at her, but it’s Beth who answers the blonde.

“Or we could use the lake!”

Owen comes back with the still empty buckets and screaming, not helping with the atmosphere. You also notice that Justin has started to make a small hill of sand, despite not having any water or bucket to make a good one.

“ _Quiet!_ ” Everyone shuts up when Trent screams, and you look at him to see start smirking. “We need a plan… and I got one!”

* * *

“Little Trent mans up, wow!” Justin smirks at the camera, his arms crossed behind his head. “Even _I_ had goosebumps! And there wasn’t even a mirror for miles!”

* * *

You stare blankly at the camera.

“I’m honestly prepared for the worst.”

* * *

You try your best to help Justin and Beth build the sandcastle while Owen and Lindsay run back and forth with water, Trent crazily looking at everything you’re all doing.

“That’s right! Yeah, that’s right! Nine turrets, nine doors-Justin! Add one more mold so we have-”

The model gives him an uneasy look. “… nine?”

The music boy nods excessively, holding his hands together as his smile stretches out from the excitement. You can’t help but give him a worried look, wondering if he’s alright.

“Now we have a flag!”

You turn your head to see Lindsay put a shell of a crab unto a stick stuck inside the sandcastle, and the girl had used nail polish to draw the logo of your team on it. You smile at her to tell her that it’s a good idea, and her smile widens happily as you do so.

“Great!” Trent kneels to take another shell and a stick. “Now we need eight more!”

You share a look with Justin, both of you feeling like Trent might be going too far now.

“Dude, stop at three!” The model gives Trent a scared look and you scream when you see that he has already put seven more ‘flags’ on the castle. “Stop at five! J-just stop!”

Owen gasps in fear. “It can’t support so much wait!”

Trent giggles like a crazy person, his eyes widening as he approaches the last shell on the last stick.

“Just one more...”

“ _Trent, stop!_ ”

You grab his hand before he can put the flag on the stick, accidentally touching the castle with your arm and destroying it.

“… flag.”

You all stare at the destroyed sandcastle for a while, until all eyes turn to you.

“Um...” You give out an awkward smile. “ _Oops..?_ ”

_I might get kicked off for something I didn’t even do on purpose. Nice._

Justin sighs. “It’s over.”

Beth smiles brightly while showing her handmade bracelets on her wrists.

“What if I tied these bracelets around the towers to keep them up?”

The model quirks an eyebrow at her. “It’s a _sandcastle_ building contest, Beth.”

The nerd girl giggles. “ _Nooo._ It’s a _prop_ sandcastle building contest. Anything goes!”

_Holy shit, Beth is a genius._

“Oh!” Lindsay shows up her giant pink makeup bag. “I have some anything!”

Beth’s smile widens. “And we can make it even better!”

As Lindsay throws out packs of old-style magazines, Beth takes up an empty bucket.

“Everybody, tear up these magazines!”

When she says that, you notice that you’re still holding Trent’s hand, and so you free him to take a magazine and tear it up. You try to ignore the fact that your cheeks are getting warmer and you do your best to avoid looking at the music boy, which is an idea he also seems to be working on since his face is redder than usual. When you all end up putting enough shredded magazines in Beth’s bucket, the nerdy girl takes a bottle of hairspray from Lindsay.

“I’ll make some pieces with hairspray-” She pushes the button to wet the magazines with the hairspray and her grin stretches out. “-and voilà! Paper mache!”

Justin gives out a smug. “Crafty…!”

She blushes under his compliment, and you send her a knowing smile from your place which makes her look at the ground in embarrassment.

“Remember!” Trent points at all of you with a crazy grin. “Nine of everything!”

Okay, it’s official.

Trent has crossed the line of obsession.

* * *

You all look down at your prop of a sandcastle, the whole thing kinda looking like an Italian type of building with the bracelets wrapped around the towers and all.

“I dug thee...” Trent shows the castle while trying to find a name. “… castle Gwen!”

Gwen quirks an eyebrow at her place, giving Duncan a side look.

“Now he’s naming buildings after me?” She shakes her head in disbelief. “I think Trent might be obsessed.”

“Nine molds, nine flags...” Trent laughs out loud. “Nine wicked jam rooms…!”

Gwen smiles awkwardly. “At least his number nine obsession is even worse than the ‘me’ one!”

Duncan smirks. “Four letters in your name, five letters in Trent’s, put them together and you get...”

The blue-haired girl gasps. “ _Nine!_ He can’t be doing everything nine times just for me…!”

Harold arrives beside them and overhears their conversation.

“Dude always do everything nine times.” The ginger-haired boy squints his eyes as he thinks. “I reckon it started when he figured out you might like him.”

She looks over your team to see him wave back at her, the music boy counting out loud nine movements of his arm. Duncan, on the other, gives out a wider grin.

“Could say you’ve… sent him to cloud _nine?_ ”

He laughs at his joke but stops when the blue-haired girl hits him in the arm.

“Not funny, Duncan.”

“And I called this...” Trent shows off a paper royal garden you’ve all just finished beside the castle. “The Garden of (Y/N)!”

The punk’s eye twitches upon hearing that.

“Awn, thanks, Trent!” You give the music boy what seems to be a sweet smile, even though you’re internally hoping he’s just being friendly. “You didn’t have to name it after me.”

Trent’s smile stretches out. “No need! A beautiful paper garden must be named after the heart of this team!”

Duncan grinds his teeth as his fists tighten, his eyes widening from rage.

“ _ **I swear, I’m gonna kill him**_.”

“Relax, they’re just friends.” Gwen crosses her arms over her chest, her expression faltering to a sad one. “… right?”

Her words seem to calm down the punk a little, who manages to tear his eyes away from the sight of you laughing with the music boy, but the blue-haired girl still feels her heart sink inside her chest. What is this feeling? Is she jealous? It must be it…

But is she jealous because of Trent giving you this kind of attention, or if because she wishes to be in his place telling you those things?

Maybe it’s a little bit of both.

“ _Fly! Fly!_ ”

Duncan, Gwen, and Harold both turn their heads towards the rest of their team’s members, only to see them trying to fly off seagulls who have taking place on their sandcastle. The ginger-haired boy’s eyes go wide at the sight and he runs over.

“ _No!_ ” He grabs his head in frustration. “There are birds in my belfry!”

The seagulls all fly away at the same, also destroying the castle in the process.

“Dang!” Harold clenches his fists. “They busted my castle!”

Chef makes a sign to eliminate the Screaming Gaffers, making Chris raise a finger.

“We have a winner!” The host’s voice makes him gain your attention, and your eyes widen upon seeing the sight of the other team’s sandcastle. “Beth and the Killer Grips clever prop… Casa dos paper mache!”

Your whole team cheers around you, and despite the chance of not getting kicked off today, you give out a wide smile. It’s so nice to see your friends being so happy, that’s one thing you enjoy seeing more than anything else.

“And friendship bracelets!”

You look back at Chris to see Beth smiling happily at the camera until the host pushes her away from his shot.

“Which _means-_ ” He grins evilly at the sight of the nerdy girl falling unto the ground, then looks back at the camera. “-we need a _new_ tiebreaker!”

He loses his smile for a moment. “And I was hoping for the evening off… Instead, gather ye some wood, campers… for a fire of the bond variety!”

* * *

You’re picking up tree branches from the ground, unaware of the shadow creeping up on you.

“ _ **That’s a nice view you’re giving me.**_ ”

You gasp in surprise as you stand up and accidentally let the branches go, only to turn around and see none other than Duncan smirking down at you.

“Babe!” The punk laughs out loud when you hit him in the shoulder, your cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “You scared me!”

“I can see that.” He stops you from hitting him again by trapping your hands within him, his smug stretching out upon seeing your expression up close. “But I just _love_ seeing you get embarrassed.”

You grumble under your breath as you look down at the ground, only for him to bring you closer so he can gently kiss your lips.

“I missed you today.” His expression turns to a peaceful one while he intertwines his fingers with yours. “We haven’t got that much time together.”

You give him a sweet smile, then tiptoed so you can peck his lips. “Glad you noticed.”

He chuckles at your word. “So you missed me too, huh?”

“Of course I did!” You pout, making his heart melt at the sight. “I hate that we’re on separate teams.”

His teeth grind as his eyes harden. “Yeah, you gotta thank your buddy Trent for that.”

You tilt your head at him, confused by his reaction. “You know he didn’t mean any harm.”

“Yeah...” He squints his eyes at you for a moment, then looks away. “… right.”

“Okay, Duncan...” You frown in worry and squeeze his hands within yours. “Tell me, what’s wrong?”

“ _Do you like him?_ ”

You’re taken aback by his question, shocked that he would think something like that, then you can’t top it.

You laugh.

“A-Are you serious?” You notice how his dark expression hasn’t changed, and so you calm down your laugh but keep your smile. “Awn, babe. Are you jealous?”

“What-Me? Jealous? Pff!” You giggle when his face reddens, the punk trying his best to hide his emotions. “Of course not! I’m just curious, that’s all.”

“ _Duncan._ ” You get your face closer to his, the sound of your voice only a little above of a whisper. “ _I only love you and Courtney._ ”

He gets out a proud grin. “ _You do?_ ”

“ _Hm-hm._ ” You slowly brush your lips against his. “ _And I wouldn’t ask for anything else._ ”

Judging by how fast he crashes his mouth against yours and his arms wraps themselves around your form, you’re guessing that he’s more than satisfied with your answer.

* * *

You come back at the beach once the sun has disappeared from the sky, your hands full of branches while you giggle happily to yourself. You put down what you find during the evening in the pile your teammates made, spotting your boyfriend on the other side of Chris and him back a smile before standing silently in the dark with your team.

That is until Chris claps his hands and several torches light up on their own.

“Why you’d bother sending us out to get firewood!?”

The host stares back at Heather annoyingly.

“I needed some alone time.” He shows her his hand, moving around his fingers a little. “You think those nails manicure themselves?”

You can’t help but snort from your place, then hide your face behind your hands and praying that no one heard you.

“Which brings us to-” You sigh in relief when Chris looks at the camera with a huge grin. “-the tie-breaking challenge! A walk to the twist mash potato dorky old school dance contest!”

You get a flash of a memory of four years old you dancing happily with Chris, the 1950’s beach movie playing on the TV screen. You shake your head to put it away from your thoughts, your heart getting heavy.

You really need to leave this show before the guilt eats up all your insides.

“Teams!” Chris raises a finger, and you do your best to look away from him. “Choose your best boogie here for a battle!”

Lindsay smiles wildly as she puts her fist in the air. “I vote for Trent!”

The music boy looks at each one of you, uncertain.

“Me? Why?”

Justin grins. “We heard you’ve got some fly moves!”

“But… do you remember when Chef made us dance in the Basic Training episode? (Y/N) was pretty good at it.”

“Nah, dude.” You give him a smug, putting your hands inside your hoodie to warm them up. “I think everyone knows you’re the best dancer here.”

He’s not, and you’re definitely better than him… but who cares? Not your teammates since they all seem to stare at him expectantly. The music boy ends up looking at the ground in disbelief after a while, then he sighs.

“Okay… I’ll do it!” He suddenly grins proudly. “If you all say my name nine times!”

You share a long look with your teammates, then you all roll your eyes before chanting his names.

“ _Trent, Trent, Trent..._ ”

* * *

Chris pushes a button on a radio, wild and old beach music suddenly coming out loudly. Leshawna grins as she squints her eyes at Trent, her lips stretching out when he smiles back at her.

“Prepare for a load lot of pain, son.”

His smile turns to a smirk. “ _Bring it._ ”

They both start dancing at their place, but the music boy soon stops when he notices Leshawna’s horrible moves.

The worst is that she doesn’t seem to notice how bad she is.

“Oh god...” You can’t help but chuckle at the sight. “Anyone would win against that!”

As if he heard you, Trent shakes his head to forget about Leshawna and restarts dancing on the music’s beat. You notice Beth put her fist up in the air, her smile widening.

“Go, Trent!”

Lindsay dances on her spot. “Shake your lady lumps!”

“Yeah!” You start dancing with the blonde, both of you giggling happily at each other. “Just let yourself have fun!”

The music boy continues with his sick moves, feeling pretty proud of himself until he spots his girlfriend’s sad expression from far away.

* * *

“The thing is...” Trent looks back at the camera with a hint of hesitation. “… if Gwen wants to win, why is it unethical for me to help her? I’m Trent first and a Killer Grip second!”

He takes a small pause before he loses his confidence.

“Oh, can we erase that? Confession might be good for the soul, it’s not so good for the teamwork.”

* * *

As Trent suddenly start a moonwalk behind Leshawna, he spots a tree branch on his way, making him grin. He looks back at the camera to give it a wink before he drops down on the floor, screaming in fake pain.

“Dude!” Justin puts his hands around his mouth to raise his voice. “Get up!”

“Ugh...” Trent tries to get up on his own, his face scrunching up in pain. “I think I have turned my ankle…!”

You gasp, worry and guilt washing over you. If you had accepted to dance instead of him, none of this would have happened!

Owen puts his hands around his head in panic. “ _Do something!_ ”

Trent tries his best to move around and make it look like some sort of dancing, his eyes opening in fear when Chris’ shadow engulfs him.

“ _ **That’s not dancing!**_ ”

“It’s… modern!” Trent tries his best to find a poor excuse. “It’s… uh… interpretive!”

“Oh god, Trent!” You walk over to kneel beside him. “Are you okay?”

Duncan squints his eyes from his place. “ _I interpret it as sucking..._ ”

“Shut it, Duncan!” Gwen hits his shoulder with her elbow, her expression turning to a guilty one. “I ignored Trent and now he has lost his will to go on!”

The punk rolls his eyes. “You’re giving yourself too much credit.”

He notices how you’re helping the music boy sit up, and he crosses his arms over his chest.

“If Trent has _that_ many screws loose, you didn’t unscrew anymore of them.”

* * *

“I like Trent...” Gwen pauses before looking back at the camera. “A lot. But I don’t wanna be responsible for this much mental distress!”

* * *

“I know I’m a little too harsh on music boy over there.” Duncan grinds his teeth. “But I just hate how close he’s getting to (Y/N)!”

He shakes his head in anger. “Trust me, if Courtney was here, she would agree with me.”

* * *

“I can’t believe I’m saying this...” You look back at Chris just as you help Trent get back up on his feet, the boy putting half on his weight on you. “But Leshawna and the Screaming Gaffers are the winners!”

_Well… at least I got what I wanted._

“And your reward...” The host grins wildly as he looks back at Gwen’s team. “The greatest beach party ever picked!”

While the blue-haired girl’s team cheer up, you look back at Trent.

“Do you think you can walk?”

“Yeah...” He gets his arm off your shoulder, a small smile on his lips. “Thanks for helping me.”

You give a smile back. “It’s the least I can do.”

That’s when he notices Gwen giving him a sign to follow her. “Um… I need to go somewhere if you’ll excuse me.”

You can’t help but let your eyes follow him for a while, worry still present in your mind.

“I'm sorry that you lost again.”

You turn your head towards Heather, surprised that she came to talk to you.

“Meh, it’s fine.” You smile brightly at her, also noticing your boyfriend starting to dance along with DJ behind her. “It’s one less chance for you to leave, right?”

“… I guess...” She tilts her head, her eyes eying you carefully. “Are you really okay?”

You snort. “What do you mean?”

“Look, I know you would think I’m the last person you can talk to, but...” She shrugs then crosses her arms over her chest. “I can tell something’s bothering you. So… if you need to talk… I’m here.”

You stare back at her in disbelief, and she sighs in annoyance.

“I really mean it. So you better not make me change my mind.”

You give out a smile, your eyes sweetening, which makes her cheeks reddening.

“Thanks, Heather.” You give her a small wave as you walk away where the rest of your team went. “I’ll keep that in mind!”

* * *

When Trent comes back to join you later, you can’t help but feel relieved to see him walk normally again. You would have felt really bad if he had injured himself badly, so you’re glad he seems to heal up pretty fast from anything and everything.

“If the losing team could just follow me to the bus!” Chef arrives beside Chris covered in oil, the ex-soldier whispering something in the host’s ear and therefore making him lose his grin. “ **… which is broken.** ”

He soon regains his smile, an idea coming into his head.

“Which means the losers have to stay and watch their rivals gorge on victory… and POI!”

“But...” You raise your hand, frowning in confusion. “What about the elimination?”

“Do you see an award stage around here?” Chris shakes his head at you, almost like he’s disappointed. “There’ll be no elimination for tonight.”

Your teammates seem to cheer up when they hear that, while you force yourself to give out a small smile.

_Goddammit._

* * *

While your boyfriend is having fun with the rest of his team at the party, you’re sitting on a tire close to the water in a darker area, your teammates spreading around you. You notice Justin kick out an empty can of soda in the sand, while Owen takes a bite out of your sandcastle prop.

“How is it, Omar?”

The big blond smiles at Lindsay. “Oh, as good as a dirty crusted magazine can be.”

You look away in time to miss the sight of him spitting out the dirty magazines in Lindsay’s face, your hands soon getting your deck of cards out of your hoodie’s pocket. You’ve started shuffling them around to pass time when someone sits beside you, and so you look up to see none other than Trent smiling at you.

“How many things did you bring exactly?”

You slightly chuckle. “Not enough to make a party of our own.”

“I think we can still manage to have some fun.” He gives your deck of card a small look before he turns his attention back to your eyes. “Have any magic tricks up your sleeve?”

You grin happily, spreading the cards as wide as you can in the palms of your hands. “Pick a card without showing me and memorize it.”

He does as you say, taking a moment to look at the card before nodding.

“Alright, now put it back anywhere you want in the deck.” He puts it back close to your right, and so you start shuffling. “Okay. Now, I’m gonna put these in three piles, and once I’m done you’re gonna tell me in which pile your card is.”

You start putting the cards on three different piles on the tire between you two, making sure each card is facing up so Trent can see where his card is. Once you’re done, you look back up at him expectantly.

“Which pile is your card in?” He points at the left one, and so you start to pick the piles up. “Good, we’re gonna do the same thing again.”

You re-put the cards in three piles, then look at him expectantly.

“Which pile is your card in?” He points at the middle one, and you make a surprised expression. “Wait, really? You’re sure it’s not on the right one?”

He shakes his head with a wide grin. “Nah, I’m sure.”

“Alright, let’s do it again once last time.” You pick up the cards and put them back in three piles again. “Now, let me guess. It’s in that pile.”

He snorts when you point at the middle one. “No, it’s in the left one.”

“Okay, okay….” You pick the card and give him a hard look. “We’ll do it once last time. But _this_ time, I’ll tell you which card is yours.”

You start putting the cards in three different piles, counting the number of cards in your head as you do so, and when you put down the eleventh card…

“The nine of Spades.” You give him a proud look, your lips turned into a smirk. “This is your card.”

He stares at it for a few seconds, then grins at you. “Nope.”

Your brain screams in disbelief.

“W-what?” You look down at your cards, confused. “How did I missed this? It’s a beginners trick!”

You look back at Trent when he suddenly starts chuckling. “I lied, it’s my card.”

His chuckle turns to a loud laugh when you start playfully hitting him in the shoulder.

“It’s not funny!” You don’t like how your words seem to increase his fun. “You’re not supposed to lie to a magician when he does a trick!”

“I know! I know, I’m sorry.” He picks up the nine of Spades once you stop hitting him, his eyes sweeten as he looks at it. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t randomly pick that one because it’s my lucky number.”

“Yeah, by the way...” You tilt your head at him, re-starting to shuffle the rest of your cards as a tic. “Why is that your lucky number? You seem pretty obsessed with it.”

He blinks a couple of times before looking back you.

“I was a little too overboard today, huh?” He sighs when you nod, then looks back at the card. “I’m sorry about that...”

“It’s fine, I’m just curious to know the origin story.”

He quietly chuckles at your words as he gives you back the card, his eyes turning towards the water while he holds his hands together.

“When I was a kid, my grandfather gave me a toy train.” He gives out a sad smile, memories flashing through his eyes. “I really loved that train, you know? It was the greatest thing in the world and I was always playing with it. But shortly before my grandfather died, a wheel fell off, leaving only nine instead of ten.”

You feel your heart sting in pain and you put your deck of cards back in your hoodie. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks.” His eyes set on you for a moment, his lips slightly stretching out. “I was devastated. I was sure that it was because I broke the train that my grandfather died.”

“That’s not true.” You put your hand on top of his, trying to give him comfort. “You had nothing to do with it.”

“I know that now.” He grabs your hand between his own unconsciously. “But back then, I was just a child, and I have to thank my mom for helping me. She managed to convince me that the fact the train broke was a message for me to spend more time with my grandfather before he died, and the number nine was, therefore, my lucky number.”

You give out a sweet smile. “I like that thought.”

“Yeah… me too.” A familiar glint appears in his eyes as he looks at you, his expression turning to a calm one. “You’re very sweet, you know that?”

You can’t help the heat from spreading inside your chest. “You’re pretty kind yourself, you know...”

He looks down at your lips for a second, and just as you think you might need to do something, he frees your hand and looks away with red cheeks.

“Um… I’m sorry we lost because of me.” The sound of music and loud cheering gets to you two and he sadly chuckles. “At least we made _them_ happy, huh?”

You tilt your head at him, already forgetting about the moment that was about to happen.

“It’s not your fault you got injured, Trent.”

He stays silent for a while. “I guess...”

Then he looks back at you with a bright smile.

“At least none of us get sent home tonight. Isn’t that great?”

“Yeah…” You feel yourself cringe, and so you look away to hide your expression from him. “It’s great...”

“What’s wrong?” He quirks an eyebrow at you when you don’t answer, worry settling inside in thoughts. “(Y/N), is everything alright? You’ve never looked so scared before.”

“It’s just...” You sigh, starting to play with your fingers to calm your nerves. “Look, I can’t tell you the details here, but… I’ve discovered a secret that might change my whole life, and I really need to get eliminated so I don’t accidentally tell it here.”

He stares at you in silence for a while before answering. “Why didn’t you tell us before? We would have helped you.”

“You think Chris would let me go so easily?” You sadly chuckle and shake your head. “If everyone wants to vote for me out of kindness instead of some sort of drama, he’s gonna find a way so that I get invincibility and stay.”

“Yeah, you’re right...” He frowns when he realizes something. “… wait, is that why you haven’t helped that much?”

“Yes… I don’t want you all to hate me, so I’ve been trying to be lazy instead of being mean, but it’s not working!” You sigh again, hiding your face with your hands. “I just don’t know what to do anymore...”

He stares at you in silence for a while, his heart sinking at the sight of you being so sad and scared. And why does it seem like you’re so close to him yet so far away? He never felt like this before, not even Gwen. And he loves Gwen, he knows he does, but…

Gosh, seeing you like this makes him want to die.

And he’s gonna do his best to help you, even if it costs him a million dollars.

But he’s only gonna do that because you’re a good friend… right?


	34. TDA: 3:10 to Crazytown

**5 - 3:10 to Crazytown**

“Ugh...” You wipe away the sweat on your forehead, the heat being too high for you to even appreciate having your feet in a bucket of water. “Why is it so hot…?”

You hear a chuckle beside you, and so you open your eyes to observe your boyfriend smiling with his eyes closed.

“Should I apologize?”

“ _Ha-ha._ ” You hit his shoulder and his chuckle turns to a small laugh. “Very funny, babe.”

“I know, I’m hilarious.” You roll your eyes at him, then sigh when you feel the sun roasting the back of your neck its rays. “You know, if the water doesn’t help, maybe you should find some shade.”

You take a look around to see how the others are doing, only to see most of your friends slowly dying under the shade.

“Doesn’t look like it’s doing much for them.”

Duncan slightly opens his blue eyes, his pupils observing Leshawna and Heather trying to share the small spot of shade under an umbrella they stole from the fake beach.

“You could always go back to the caravan.”

You snort. “You’re kidding, right? It’s like being in an oven in there.”

“It’s better than being directly in the sun.”

You blankly stare at him as you pause for a moment.

“Yeah… you’re right.” You get your feet out of the bucket of water, slipping them inside your cheap (F/Color) flip flops before standing up. “I’ll see if there isn’t anything hidden in there that could help us reduce the heat.”

He stops you from leaving by grabbing your arm. “Wait.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him, confused, but he only grins.

“You forgot my kiss.”

You snort. “You want a kiss in this heat?”

“I always want a kiss. Now come here.” You playfully roll your eyes and approach your face to his so you can put your lips against his. “There, now you can go.”

You chuckle, walking away. “You’re a kid sometimes.”

He  only  hums as a response, going back to close his eyes while you pass by Lindsay and Beth sitting on the steps to the girl’s caravan. You manage to get through the door even though you didn’t have much space to walk beside them, getting inside the vehicle and instantly regretting.

“Oh god, this is horrible.” You run over the window beside your bed, opening it to try and at least ventilating the room with the outside wind for when you’ll need to come back later. “Let’s go outside-”

You gasp in shock when you spot your Gilded Chris Awards on the edge of the window, completely melted.

“ _No!_ ” You carefully take up the golden wrapper in your hands, Chris’ face now destroyed and covered in melted chocolate. “ _This wasn’t supposed to happen!_ ”

“(Y/N)?” You jumped up in shock when you hear Beth’s voice. “Are you okay?”

At first, you’re confused as to why the nerdy girl is not in the room with you, then you realize that she must have heard your outburst from outside since you just opened the window.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine!” You try to ignore the tears coming out of your eyes as you throw the chocolate in a trash can beside your bed. “It’s just very hot in here!”

You shake your head to try and force yourself to stop the tears from coming out. It’s just a stupid Gilded Chris, why the hell do you feel like the world has just ended?

“Awn…!” You feel like Lindsay might be pouting right now to be sympathetic. “Then come outside with us!”

You pop your head outside of the window once you’ve calmed down, giving them a wide grin from your place.

“Aren’t you guys slowly dying out here?”

“Yeah...” Beth sighs, a small drop of sweat drooling from her temple. “But it’s more tolerable with friends!”

Your smile turns to a sweet one at her words, but you don’t have time to say anything that gunshots make your blood run cold.

“ _Aaah!_ ” Beth holds her head between her hands, then she sends the origin of the sound a death glare. “ _ **Chris!**_ ”

You look at the other caravan to see none other than your biological father standing there, the host wearing a cowboy outfit while holding two guns in his hands. His grin stretches out when he sees how he scared the crap out of all of you, everyone turning their attention to him.

“Take it easy! The guns are loaded with blanks!” He puts the guns back in his belt buckle, but not without doing turning around one of them with his fingers. “At least I’m pretty sure one of them is...”

He can’t help but laugh maniacally from his place, and you have to force yourself to not hide under the window when he walks over to be able to stand in the middle of the place.

“Since there’s no beating the heat, we’re going West this week! There’s a town meeting at hot noon!” His smile turns evil as he stares intensely at everyone. “Be there or I’ll drive your dead beats out of town!”

“Oh! _Oh!_ ” Lindsay raises her hand as she jumps excitedly. “If you’re driving us out of town, can we go to the mall?”

He just stares at her in disbelief. “Um… maybe.”

“ _Yeah!_ ” She claps excitedly and turns towards you still half-hiding in the caravan. “You hear that, (Y/N)? We’re going to the mall!”

“Yeah...” You give her an awkward smile and thumbs up. “That’s great.”

* * *

“Sometimes I wonder if Lindsay’s parents dropped her when she was a baby.” You use your hand to try to cool yourself down while you speak to the camera. “Honestly, it would explain a lot.”

You sigh because of the heat, then give out a smile. “But we wouldn’t love her this much if she was any different.”

* * *

When Chris said there was a town meeting at noon, he meant that you should all join him in the western town prop set at the time you would normally go at lunch… which mean that you’re now not only suffering from the high heat but also from hunger as you wait for the host to show up.

At least the sight of Leshawna’s crazy afro hair is making some of you feel better since Heather starts snickering beside you.

“ _I’m sorry._ ” You step back in fear when the brown girl appears in Heather’s and your face, the bald girl not bothered by it at all. “Do you see something wrong with _my_ hair?”

As a response, Duncan separates her hair at the top of her hair so he can properly talk to her.

“Not from where I’m standing.”

The brown girl doesn’t have time to tell back a remark Chris’ voice gains back all of your attention.

“Listen up, partners!” The host closes and old watch in his hand and puts it back in his pocket before walking towards you all. “In any good Western, there are heroes, outlaws, horses, and pretty Dames. The hero defeats the outlaw, and they ride up into the sunset on the horse.”

“ _What about the pretty Dames!?_ ”

Chris looks back at an excited Beth with an annoyed expression. “ _**None of your beeswax!** _ ”

He grins back when he sees her scared expression, and he pets her head while laughing.

“Hahaha… Just messing with ya’!” He points at a building behind him while answering her question. “They usually hang out in the saloon during the bar brawl.”

“Bar brawl?” Harold’s smile stretches out. “Cool!”

The ginger-haired boy then starts doing weird moves with even weirder sounds, most of you looking at him in silence until Duncan makes him fall into a horse trough full of water by crocheting his foot.

“Awesome reenactment, Harold!” The punk grins wildly, his eyes widening like crazy. “Most brawls do end up with the loser in the water trough.”

You shake your head in disappointment at him, which makes you only gain a bigger grin from your boyfriend. Harold gets soon his head out of the water trough, the boy then shaking his head to try to dry his wet hair, most of the water now dropping on Justin’s torso.

“Oh _yeah._ ” He starts to model as he smiles in content, giving you a wink from his place. “ _Feels_ _ **good.**_ ”

You only quirk an eyebrow back at him, which makes him lose his smile.

“Awn, seriously? Why are you not affected by my hotness?”

“Probably because there’s someone hotter over there.”

Duncan chuckles proudly when you point at him, and he laughs out loud when he sees Justin crosses his arms in frustration.

“Enough with the man candy!” Chris squints his eyes at Justin, preparing his guns. “All eyes on me!”

He starts shooting at the sky right after he talks, gaining back everyone’s attention and making him smile again.

“Time for your first challenge!” The host puts the guns back in his buckle belt while giving you all a serious expression. “No cowboy wear spit net will go one day without saddle practice. _Time to saddle up!_ ”

As if on cue, your eyes all turn towards an old brown horse eating grain out of a bucket, the animal soon starting to fart for quite a long time without even noticing it.

And apparently, Chris is not happy about it.

“ _That’s_ the best _steed_ we could afford!?”

He’s looking back at Chef’s head popping out of a building’s window, the ex-soldier calculating something on a cash register.

“You wan a five stars hotel and champagne and caviar for breakfast...” The cook squints his eyes at the host, then gives out a smug. “I gotta cut _somewhere._ ”

“ _It’s perfect!_ ” Chris smiles wildly while giving his only friend in the world the finger guns. “ _Don’t_ change a _thing!_ ”

* * *

“ _Ooh!_ ” Beth smiles wildly at the camera. “I _love_ horses! Justin told me I look like one!”

She holds her hands together while looking away dreamily.

“He’ so..” She loses her smile, slowly realizing the true meaning of his words. “… great.”

* * *

“I spent three summers at medieval Steve’s medieval camp.” Harold shows three fingers at the camera, looking rather proud of himself. “We learned to joust, ride horses, _and_ how to look manly in tights!”

He pauses before giving the camera a long look.

“It’s harder than it looks!”

* * *

“Who says a Western has to end with a guy on his horse?” Trent rolls his eyes at the camera. “This is the movies! The guy always gets the girl...”

There’s a small moment before he smiles at the camera and points at himself.

“Meaning me!”

* * *

“Whatever Chris has prepared for this challenge, I’m sure it’s not gonna be… expected.” You cross your arms over your chest before grinning. “But whatever it is, I’m not doing it.”

* * *

“What do you mean which girl I’m talking about?” Trent frowns in confusion. “It’s Gwen! Who else would it be?”

* * *

Duncan snorts as he looks down at the old horse. “You call this a challenge?

“Not so fast!” Chris interrupts the punk before he can climb on the horse’s back. “You cowboys and cowbabes are gonna have to the steed from up there.”

You look up to see a water mill, thinking that jumping from there won’t be so bad.

“Not there!” You quirk an eyebrow in confusion at Chris’ words, but your eyes go wide when he points at a ledge that is at least one kilometer higher than the watermill itself. “ _Waaaay_ up **there**!”

_Oh fuck. I’m so glad I won’t do this._

“Since the Gaffers won last week, they go first.” Harold and Heather share a feared look, which is something you never thought you’d see in your life. “Don’t _worry._ Our unpaid interns have assured us… it’s safe.”

Somehow, you’re not quite believing that.

“We won last week!” Gwen puts her arms in the air in frustration. “Why do _we_ have to go first?”

“Because I said so! And I’m your host…” Chris smiles evilly at the team before he turns towards the camera. “Chris… McLean!”

“A-choo!” The blue-haired girl’s expression changed to a worried one. “Guys, I really think I’m coming down with something.”

“Don’t worry.” Duncan gives out a mean grin. “We’ll help you up the ladder.”

Gwen’s eyes go wide, making Trent react instantly.

“Um… guys!” He walks over them with an awkward expression. “Gwen really is sick! In her condition, she’d probably fall right off the platform and land on that poor horse!”

He smiles proudly for a second, then hides his mouth with his hands in shock at what he just said.

* * *

Gwen gives the camera a terrified look. “ _What was that!?_ ”

* * *

Trent looks at the camera in silence before he starts hitting his forehead.

“Stupid!”

* * *

Gwen gulps as she looks up at the top of the ladder, then she walks towards her fate as her thoughts darken from the fear.

“Wish me luck...”

Her team instantly cheers as she passes by them, but they all stop once they notice her poor condition. Duncan crosses his arms over his chest soon after, frowning.

“We’re gonna need a new captain.”

She turns her head at him to send him a death glare. “ _I heard that!_ ”

You give her a smile of encouragement when she gets close enough to you, one that she returns happily as she climbs the ladder. She might die because of this challenge, but at least she’ll know that your eyes would be on her the entire time.

Wait, why is she thinking about that? Focus, Gwen!

Her expression turns back to a feared one when she finally reaches the top, the wooden edge moving dangerously because of her weight. She gets a small look down at where she’s supposed to lend, feeling her heart drop in her stomach.

No. No _, no,_ _**no,** _ ~~ _**no-** _ ~~

“ _Break a leg, Gwen!_ ”

* * *

“Break a leg!?” Gwen gives the camera a horrified look. “That’s what Trent says to me as I’m about to plummet a hundred feet!?”

* * *

Trent stares at the camera in silence, then hits himself on the forehead two times.

“Stupid, stupid!”

* * *

Gwen shakes her head in fear. “I can’t do it!”

She turns around to go and climb down the ladder, but she stops when her body feels the intense urge of sneezing.

“A… Achoo- _Aaaaaah!_ ”

The intensity of her sneeze made her fall down from the wooden plunge, her scream being heard as she falls towards the target, a.k.a the horse. You hide your mouth with your hands when you see her fall, trying to stop yourself from screaming until the blue-haired girl finally lands right on the horse, looking like she’s sitting on his back.

“… you’re okay, girl?”

As an only response to Leshawna’s question, Gwen lets herself fall from the horse and right onto the ground.

“ _Gwen!_ ”

Trent is the first to kneel beside her, the boy trying his best to help her up as she smiles at him.

“Thanks… just watch my left- _Ow!_ ” She gives Trent a hard look when he looks back at her in confusion, holding her arm. “ _ **Arm!**_ ”

* * *

Trent hits his forehead three times.

“Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_ ”

* * *

“Just let go of her arm, Trent.” You take his writs in your hand and gently make him let go of Gwen’s broken arm, unaware of his cheeks flaming from your touch. “I’ll help you get up now, Gwen, okay?”

She slowly nods, her eyes closed shut because of the pain, but she seems to relax when you wrap your arms around her torso. Her breath gets caught in her throat when you lift her from the ground, part from the pain and part from the closeness of your body, and she opens her tired eyes in time to see you hand her over to Leshawna.

“Take care of her, okay?”

“Will do, girl.”

“ _Whoa-oh!_ ” Chris’ voice gains everyone’s attention again, and you all turn around to notice that his grin is wider than usual. “That was _awesome_ , Gwen! Gaffers: one! Grips… you’re up!”

As Leshawna takes Gwen towards where the infirmary might be, they both pass by you and Trent, the music boy giving his girlfriend an awkward smile while the goth girl squints her eyes at him.

Yeah… you can’t help but feel like their relationship might be on a rocky road. They’re gonna need to talk it out if they want to save it.

“Ugh...” Trent looks down with a sad expression, probably disappointed in himself. “Things couldn’t get any worse.”

“ _Oh._ ” You shake your head at him. “You shouldn’t have said that.”

He quirks an eyebrow at you. “Why?”

“Things usually gets worse when you say they can’t.”

* * *

And you were right, because a few seconds after jumping from the plunge, Trent doesn’t land on the horse, but rather on the wooden fence, therefore hurting his intimate parts.

“ _Sheesh._ ” Chris gives the viewers a knowing smile. “Glad it wasn’t me!”

You frown in worry when you notice Trent having difficulties to walk back to you and your teammates, the music boy’s expression scrunched up so intensely from the pain and his movements so slow and uncertain that you focus all your attention on him. You’re so caught up in your worried thoughts that you almost don’t hear what Chris says next.

“Gaffers: one! Grips: zero! Harold: you’re up!”

But you couldn’t care less about Harold right now.

“Trent, are you okay?” The boy stops in front of you, his face grimacing from the pain it causes him. “Oh my gosh, do you need help to go to the infirmary.”

“No, I’m… fine.” He difficultly gives out a smile, his heart warming-up from seeing you get worried about him. “I just hope this is gonna help you with your goal.”

Your brain almost shuts down at his words.

“Trent.” You give him a serious look, your voice almost lower than a whisper. “Did you land on the fence for me? So we could lose?”

“I missed the horse for you.” He chuckles but stops when the movement it’s causing hurts him. “The rest was… unprepared.”

“Oh god, Trent, no.” He seems confused by your reaction, and so you continue your explanation. “I don’t want you to help me if it means you get hurt…”

He smiles again at your kindness. “It’s fine...”

“No, it’s not!” You start feeling desperate. “You could have had an even worse injury! And what if you get eliminated instead of me, huh? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself!”

“Hey, I’m telling you, it’s fine.” He forces himself to stand straight without showing any sign of pain, but you can still see him flinch as he does so. “S-see? It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Your expression falters as your heart burns from the sight. “Trent...”

“And I don’t care if I get eliminated. It’s a risk I’m willing to take” His smile stretches out and he somehow seems determined. “For you.”

The alarm in your head goes off again, the one that tells you when one of your friends might be starting to have feelings for you that you don’t reciprocate for them, and therefore you either need to reject them or find a way to stop them from confessing forever. But how can you reject Trent when he doesn’t seem to notice that his feelings are changing.

“Alright, just...” You sigh and shake your head. “Just don’t hurt yourself… okay? Can you promise that?”

His grin seems to get wider. “I promise.”

* * *

“(Y/N) is so kind and generous…” Trent smiles at the camera. “She’s always worried about our safety more than her own, even for someone as mean as Heather.”

He then holds his head with his hands, his eyes looking up dreamily.

“And have you noticed how pretty she is? I mean, it’s no wonder I like her so much.” He stays silent in his dream thoughts for a little while before he gets back to reality. “… as a friend! I mean I like her very much as a friend… Haha…”

* * *

“Way to pat the saddle, Duncan!”

Chris’ voice makes you turn your attention away from Trent and back to your boyfriend, who apparently just jumped of the plunge only to land right on top of Harold, who had also just landed on the horse.

“ _I think you broke my coccyx…!_ ”

You sigh in disbelief at your boyfriend’s actions. You thought he was over his revenge against the ginger-haired boy for getting your shared girlfriend kicked off, especially since Courtney seemed to have taken care of him on her own in the losers’ resort. But guess you were wrong since the punk now seems to have gotten back to picking on Harold non-stop for an unknown amount of time.

Though Trent catches your disappointed expression sent to Duncan jumping off the horse, which makes him wonder-

-why are you going out with this criminal? I mean, sure, he seems to make you happy, but he’s so mean and aggressive towards everyone else…

What do you see in him?

“ _Goodbye, sweet world!_ ”

Your eyes go wide as you see Owen falling from up there, but sigh in relief when you see that someone took care of dragging Harold down from the horse and away from the landing area. Of course, you’re not surprised to see the horse step away to avoid getting crushed by the big blond, Owen ending up making a huge hole in the ground instead of landing on the horse.

“ _Hey!_ ” The horse runs away when Owen sticks his head out to scream at him, the blond soon following the animal from behind. “ _You get back here!_ ”

You close your eyes shut and cringe when you hear the horse’s screams of agony, only to open them to see the animal trying its best to not fall unto the ground under all of Owen’s weight.

“Nice effort, Owen! My man!” Chris points at the blond with his usual grin. “If horses can bend, so can the rules! Grips are now on the board with one!”

_Wait, really? Did we get a point?_

Gwen’s team is apparently not so happy with that, as they all immediately start complaining that it was unfair and that what Owen did was technically called ‘cheating’.

“ _Yeah,_ baby!” Owen interrupts their screaming by coming back towards your team on the back of the horse, the animal sticking his head out in tiredness. “Horse jumping rules!”

You can’t help but giggle at your boyfriend’s irritated expression. He’s just so cute when he’s frustrated like that, it makes you want to kiss his whole face… which is something he actually likes. He just made you promise to never do it in public to preserve his reputation.

When Owen finally gets off the horse, you immediately hear a ghostly scream.

“Aaaaah… _!”_ You look up to see DJ jumping of the plunge while holding to a cloth and using it as a parachute. _“Aaaaaah…!_ ”

You have to agree that the jock’s idea is pretty good... but you can your mind when he accidentally goes towards the electrical fence instead of the horse, which is something he realizes at the last second since he had his eyes closed the entire time.

“ _Not the electrical wires!_ ”

You look away to avoid the sight of him getting electrocuted, still flinching from the electrical sounds and the boy’s screams. When you look back at him, you gaps in shock, your brain not even able to describe with words what you’re seeing.

“Um… Chris?” Leshawna walks over to the host, a worried expression on her face. “You are going to send someone over to help DJ… right?”

Supposedly, the host is about to answer ‘yes’ to Leshawna’s question, but instead, he starts to laugh like a maniac-

* * *

“We, here at… Total Drama Action…” Chris takes a second to read the script in his hands. “...and Slaves of Drama… care about the health… _and_ welfare… of our… competitors and characters… furthermore… no animals were hurt… in the making of this show... and fanfiction...”

The host turns his eyes towards the author. “Was that alright?”

She sends him a thumbs up as a response.

* * *

Let’s get your attention to Justin, who’s suddenly wearing glasses and looking at a pretty thick contract.

“Uh...” The model’s lips stretch out into a smug. “Says right here page thirty-seven of my gluteus maximus modeling contract… I am _forbidden_ from any form of jumping that might strain my… um...”

He gently pats his derriere.

“… assets.” He gives you and the rest of your team a wide grin. “Sorry!”

You frown at him for a second, then turn to Trent with your arms crossed.

“If he’s not jumping, then I’m not either.”

“But (Y/N), Justin doesn’t have a choice!” You give Owen a side look, the big blond giving you a worried expression. “His contract forbids him!”

“Yeah? Well, I would like to see that contract myself.”

“Woah!” Justin takes his contract away just as you’re about to grab it, one of his hands pushing your head as far away from him. “No need to look at it, sweetheart. How about you and your pretty smile take that jump for me, huh?”

You push his hands away from your face and send him a dark look.

“ _Do_ _ **not**_ _call me ‘sweetheart’._ ”

“Jeez.” He takes his glasses off and frowns in confusion. “You’re _really_ not affected by my looks.”

“No kidding.” You cross your arms over your chest a second time and look at the rest of your team. “As I said, I’m not jumping if he doesn’t.”

“But… (Y/N)…” Beth gives you a sad expression. “We can’t win without you. Even if Lindsay and I land on the horse, the Gaffers will have two more chances to win than us!”

“Well, too bad.” Your heart breaks when you see Lindsay’s bottom lip quiver in sadness, trying your best to keep a straight face. “I’m not risking my life if pretty boy here isn’t.”

The model grins. “You called me pretty boy.”

“ _ **Do you want me to destroy your pretty face?**_ ”

“Trent!” Lindsay grabs the music boy’s arm, taking him by surprise. “You gotta convince (Y/N) to jump!”

Trent gives you a look, wondering if he should listen to his team and make you jump, but when he sees the desperation in your eyes, he feels his heart melts under a new-found passion and gives out an awkward smile.

“Um… I mean… we can’t force (Y/N) to jump if she doesn’t want to…” He keeps looking in between each of his teammates, his eyes lingering on you a little longer each time. “… right?”

You can’t help but let your shoulders sink in guilt when you hear your friends’ sighs of disappointment, but you don’t have time to think too much about it since Chris calls up your team.

“Grips! Just send someone up the ladder, already!”

Lindsay looks at Beth and gives her a small smile. “Wanna jump together?”

“Y-yeah!” The nerd girl follows the blond towards the ladder, both soon climbing together. “Besties for life!”

“ _You’re okay?_ ”

You jumped up in surprise but relaxes when you see that it’s only Trent looking at you with worry.

“Yeah… kind of.” You slightly uncross your arms to hug yourself, tilting your head as you do so. “I just wish I didn’t have to act like this.”

“They know you’re not like this.” He gives you a warm smile, which comforts you in some way. “I’m sure they’ll understand once this is all over.”

You can’t help but smile back. “I hope so.”

You notice his eyes looking down at your lips again.

_Dammit, his feelings haven’t disappeared-_

“ _ **Aaaaaaah!**_ ”

You’ve never been so relieved to hear Lindsay’s and Beth’s screams before in your entire life, the two new-found besties landing somehow both safely on the horse’s back and making it trap its head in his water bucket.

“Alright!” Chris smiles contently, his fists back to his hips. “Grips and Gaffers are now tied to three each!”

He then walks over to Leshawna and Heather with an even wider grin.

“It’s up to you two to break the tie!” He ignores the fact that the two girls are eying him worryingly. “Who wants to take one for the Gaffers?”

Leshawna instantly turns to Heather with a fake sweet smile, putting her hand on the bald girl’ back and pushing her at the front.

“After you, teammate!”

Heather groans in anger and doesn’t hesitate to turn around to grab Leshawna by her arms and throw her towards the ladder, the brown girl soon squinting her eyes at her just as they both start to climb the ladder at the same pace.

“ _Why is it that we have to stare at_ _ **your**_ _navel all day?_ ” Leshawna stares angrily at Heather from her side of the ladder. “Put a shirt on!”

“Oh!” Heather rolls her eyes before speaking sarcastically. “Oh, _right!_ Because we all **love** looking at those kumquats on your mom kiosk t-shirts!”

You cringe when you hear their insults thrown at each other, silently hoping that they’ll not make you pick a side later on since you’re friends with both, but in any case, you’re glad to see that they got too high up for you to even hear them anymore. That is until Leshawna pushes Heather of the plunge and the bald girl holds unto the brown one for dear life, both screaming on their way down towards the horse.

Wait… why aren’t they on the horse now? Did you hallucinate them falling?

“Where did they go?”

Maybe Gwen reads your mind, or maybe everyone is just very confused for the same reason, but Chris has the answer since he smiles wildly.

“Not there.” He makes movements with his arm has to prepare it for something, then he points towards the weathercock on the barn prop. “ _Way_ up there!”

You only have a few seconds to register in the sight of Leshawna and Heather being stuck on the arrows of the weathercock by their clothes before the brown girl’s pants start ripping off.

“Oh- _oh_.”

You gasp in fear when her jean rips off completely and she starts falling towards the ground at high speed, the girl screaming at the top of her lungs until an idea hits her and she uses her gigantic Afro to cushion her fall successfully.

Well, you guess that if there’s one thing positive about her hairstyle, it must be that.

Unlike her butt that is now completely shown because of her ripped pants.

“ _Ha!_ ” The brown girl points up at Heather with a proud smirk on her face, unaware that almost everyone is looking at her derriere. “Bet you’re not laughing at my hair now!”

As an answer, Chris starts laughing like a maniac, taking Leshawna by surprise until she finally notices the new breeze of the wind she’s feeling on her butt. She panics while she looks down, the host simply continuing to laugh at her.

“I guess you showed her! And by _her_ -” He puts both of his arms in the air in excitement. “-I mean the entire viewing audience!”

He stands back in fear when the brown girl groans in his face, the host putting his hands in front of him to protect himself.

“Okay, _okay!_ ” His expression turns to an annoyed one as he puts away dust on his cowboy’s shirt. “You don’t gotta get my clothes all dusty.”

The host takes a look around at all of you before smiling again.

“Looks like the teams are still tied at three a-piece!” He starts walking over to another set scene, you and the other contestants following him behind. “To the next challenge for the tie-breaker, cow pucks!”

“ _Somebody better get me down now!_ ” Heather’s echoing voice makes you stop in your tracks, looking up at her in worry while the rest of your friends simply continue walking with Chris. “ _Hello? Anyone?_ ”

She tries to free herself from the weathercock by wiggling her body, but without any success. You can’t help but give out a grin when you see her desperate expression settle on you, the bald girl now noticing that you’re the only one there.

“ _(Y/N)! Help me down!_ ”

Your grin stretches out. “What’s the magic word?”

Her eyes go wide in shock, then she frowns in frustration. “ _Are you kidding me? Aren’t friends supposed to help each other out without any questions?_ ”

“They also like to make fun of each other.” She groans in annoyance at your response, and so you cross your arms over your chest. “I’m waiting.”

She tries to wiggle out again, but she sighs when she can’t seem to get any more luck.

“ _Fine! Will you_ _ **please**_ _help me down?_ ”

You chuckle with proud, then go inside the barn to take the ladder you spotted earlier. Heavier than you thought, you manage to get out with it, putting it against the wall and dragging a barrel in front of it so you can reach the roof safely.

“ _Hello? I’m still waiting here!_ ”

“You want me to help you or not?” You get no response as you climb the ladder, your head popping up when you finally reach the roof. “That’s what I thought.”

“Shut up.” She rolls her eyes at you while you carefully walk on the barn’s roof tiles, not wanting to slip down. “You look like an idiot.”

“Thanks, it’s my everyday esthetic.” You grab the nearest wall right when you’re about to slip, noticing that you’re right under Heather now as you give her a small smile. “Hey.”

She rolls her eyes at you. “Will you stop goofing around and help me down?”

You chuckle. “Well, since you asked so nicely.”

She grumbles under her breath as you take a certain amount of strength to climb the last amount of roof left. Once you’re finally at her level, you try your best to get her shorts out of the arrow without ripping them, an idea popping into your head.

“I suggest you stand straight and hold on to the weathercock, or else you might… hurt yourself.”

She looks at how much height her fall would suffer if she doesn’t listen to you, and she doesn’t wait for long before standing straight and grabbing the arrow her shorts are stuck unto. When you finally manage to free her, she feels her whole body getting dragged down by gravity and she panics.

“ _HELP!_ ”

“Calm down! I got you!” You wrap your arms around her waist and gently help her down on the roof tiles, the bald girl cheeks looking a little red because of fear (or so you would think). “There, happy.”

She hesitantly looks back at you, your arms still around her. “Yeah-”

She gets cut off by you suddenly losing balance and slipping on the roof tiles, accidentally taking her with you while you both scream at the top of your lungs. As you watch the end of the roof coming closer and closer, you close your eyes in fear, holding on to Heather for dear life and some comfort while she does the same with you.

Then you can’t feel anything but the air.

Then it’s the crash on the ground.

“ _Ow..._ ” You slowly blink your eyes open while your body resonates in pain, trying to adjust your vision. “ _Gosh, it hurts..._ ”

“ **Ugh.** ” You wince when Heather moves, realizing that she has fallen on top of you. “At least we slide down the roof before falling. Thanks for being my cushion, by the way.”

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, you’re  _welcome._ ”

“Don’t you dare be sarcastic with me.” She gets off of you so you can sit up, and she notices how you’re breathing in sharply under each movement you make. “Jeez, are you alright?”

“Yeah...” You give out a shaky smile. “My body’s just in shock after the fall, I think”

She tilts her head at you, worries settling in her eyes, but she shakes her head and stands up before you can tease her about it.

“Come on, I’ll help you walk.” She puts her arms under yours and manages to get you to stand up, the pain still resonating inside your bones as she puts one of your arms around her shoulder. “Do you think you can walk like this?”

“I think so...” You slightly turn your head at her to give a smile. “Thanks.”

A blush creeps up on her cheeks, and she averts her eyes in embarrassment. “Don’t mention it to anyone.”

You just giggle at her, the two of you now slowly walking towards where the group disappeared.

* * *

Despite the pain still being present in your body, you’ve managed to stand up relatively straight with the rest of your teammates, noticing Heather sending you quick worried looks from time to time. You barely notice Chris lifting his cowboy’s hat with a proud look on his face, the host about to explain the next challenge.

“The whole mark of any good Western is the quick draw cowboy showdown!” You watch him walk towards the small space between your two teams, his grin stretching out. “Captains will pick their strongest cow puck to compete in what will likely be…”

He stands in between Heather and Trent, putting his hands on their shoulders while looking at the camera.

“A fight… _**To the death!**_ ”

He laughs maniacally just as you and the others take a few steps back away from him, though the host gets interrupted by a phone call from his producers. He picks it up with his grin still present on his face, though his expression seems to turn to an annoyed one the longer the conversation goes on.

“ _Hey._ ” You blink a couple of times before turning your attention towards Trent, the music boy giving you an extremely worried look. “ _Are you okay?_ ”

You give out a shaky smile. “I’m fine, Trent. The pain will go away soon.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the infirmary? Maybe you broke something.”

“Nah, it’s fine, really.” Your smile slightly stretches out. “It’s sweet of you to worry, though.”

You notice how his worried expression breaks into a smile, the music boy now looking down at his feet with an awkward chuckle.

“Haha, of course, I worry… you’re my friend, right?”

“Yeah...” You turn your head away from him, feeling a little uneasy. “We’re friends.”

_ And I’ll make sure we  **stay** friends. _

“Our lawyers _~~and author~~_ have informed me that you may shoot until someone is mildly injured...” You notice how Chris has ended his phone call, now being quite bored by the future challenge. “… or cries like a little baby… but a fight to the death is strictly prohibited… Anyway, time to pick your cowboys!”

You give Trent a knowing look, trying to silently ask him to pick you so you can lose the challenge and get voted off later tonight. It’s a simple look, really. He really should be able to understand what you want him to do, right?

Then why do you feel like he’s not getting it?

* * *

“Look, I know that (Y/N) wants me to pick her so she can have a higher chance to leave, but...” Trent puts his arms in the air with a horrified expression. “She’s already in so much pain! What if she gets even more injured? I can’t put her through that!”

He puts his elbows on the makeup counter and holds his head with his hands, a dreamy look back on his face.

“I don’t want anything to happen to her beautiful face...” He blinks a couple of times then gives the camera a panic look. “B-because she’s my friend! And I always care for my friends, haha!”

There’s a small silence where even he can tell that no one is gonna believe him.

“… Fine. I just care for her a little more, okay…? But it doesn’t mean anything!”

* * *

“The grips pick...” He shares a small look with you, then smiles. “Owen!”

_** WHAT ** _

“What!?” Justin squints his eyes at the music boy, his expression turning to annoyance. “You wanna use Owen for target practice? He’s a guaranteed hit!”

“He is a little...” Lindsay frowns hesitantly. “… large.”

“Yeah, I...” Trent looks back at you for a second, looking away as soon as he sees your angry face. “I guess I didn’t think.”

_ No, you didn’t! _

Owen’s laugh gains your whole team’s attention. “I could practically take up the whole road!”

You cringe in disgust when you see that he’s only wearing underwear with cowboy boots and a hat, the blond now drinking up all the water from both the guns you were supposed to use in the shooting duel.

“Owen!” Heather looks away and closes her eyes to avoid the sight of him. “Put some pants on!”

* * *

“He’s throwing challenges for me again!” Gwen shakes her head at the camera with a shocked expression. “I do not wanna win this way!”

* * *

“Goddammit, Trent!” You give the camera a long frustrated look. “I appreciate your help, but if you continue this way, everyone’s gonna vote for you instead of me!”

* * *

“I thought I did good! But now both Gwen and (Y/N) are angry at me!” He sighs, sinking on the counter. “Man, girls are complicated.”

* * *

“ _Owen…!_ ” Chris walks over to the big blond with a pout, clearly frustrated. “We needed that water for the quick-draw cowboy showdown!”

“Don’t look at me!” Chef suddenly arrives on the other side of Owen, pointing at Chris accusingly. “I ain’t logging any more water in this heat!”

Owen burps and turns his attention to the two only adults. “Sorry, I was thirsty.”

“ _ **Okay!**_ ” Chris frowns in anger and puts his arms in the air as he walks away. “New challenge!”

* * *

You’re now all standing in a large livestock pen, the two teams facing each other while Chris is standing proudly in the middle. You barely feel any pain anymore, now being able to smile genuinely, and you’re simply waiting for the host to explain what the new challenge is going to be.

“Since _Owen…_ ruined the last competition...” He takes a smile pause before continuing. “Your final challenge of the day will be cattle roping.”

“Um...” DJ looks around trembling, a scared expression settled on his face. “Where are the cute little baby cows at?”

“They aren’t any!” Chris points at your team first. “The Grips are the cowboys… Gaffers are the cattle! The cowboys rope the cattle… they win! The cattle dodge the cowboys… _they_ win!”

Trent scratches the back of his head in confusion. “But how do we know who’s who?”

“Grips get to wear these stylish cowboy hats...” He gets out a pale brown cowboy hat from his back just as he says so. “Gaffers get to wear… udders!”

You snort when you see the pink hat in the form of a cow’s udder, picturing your boyfriend wearing it.

_ It’s even worse than the deer costume he had to wear last season. _

Heather squints her eyes at Trent. “You just  ** had ** to ask.”

“Sorry...” While Chris hands out the different costume to everyone, Trent gives his girlfriend a sweet smile. “I bet you’ll look really in the hat, Gwen! Udderly adorable!”

* * *

“Udderly adorable? Stupid! Stupid!” Trent hits his forehead two times, his skin turning red because of it. “I’m blowing it again!”

* * *

Harold laughs as he wears the udders. “I have cow boobies on my head!”

* * *

Duncan stares silently at the camera with the pink hat on his head, then looks away while grumbling. “ _** Stupid million bucks. ** _ ”

* * *

You look down at the cowboy hat in your hands, a familiar tingling inside your chest. You’re not so sure if you should put this on your head, but seeing that all of your teammates already have put theirs on, you end up sighing and so you gently put the hat on top of your head.

Your eyes go wide as a memory comes back.

* * *

“ _Dad, look!” You run inside the kitchen with a cowboy hat on your head, most of it hiding part of your face because of how big it is. “I’m a cowboy now!”_

“ _Oh, my!” Chris grins down happily at you, then kneels to be at your level. “May I ask where you’ve found this incredible hat, cowboy?”_

_ You giggle. “In your closet...” _

“ _Ha! That’s what I thought. So you’re a sneaky cowboy.”_

_ You create the shape of a gun with your fingers and point it at him, your smile revealing a missing tooth on the front. “Hands up, bandit! There can only be one sheriff in this town!” _

_ Chris’ grin stretches out, the man finding adorable how you’re just repeating famous cowboy’ lines without making any sense. _

“ _My hands are up!” He does as he says so, and you giggle again. “But I swear, I’m no bandit!”_

“ _I don’t believe you! You’ll have to prove it!”_

“ _Prove it, huh?” His eyes settle on the cookie jar on top of the fridge. “Will giving you a cookie prove my innocence?”_

_ You gasp and start jumping up and down. “Cookie! I can have a cookie?” _

“ _Only if it proves my innocence...”_

“ _Yes! Yes, it does!” You stop jumping when he hands you a chocolate chip cookie he just took from the cookie jar, letting you admire it for a while before grabbing it and taking a bite off it. “Hmm… yummy! Thank you, papa!”_

_ He takes the cowboy hat on your head and replaces it so he can see your face more clearly. “You’re welcome, honey.” _

* * *

You shake your head to stop the tears coming out of your eyes, your hands holding onto the hat to stop it from falling down your head. You don’t like how you keep getting these random memories of a life you’ve completely erased from your mind. It’s like… the longer you stay here, the more you remember.

And it just keeps hurting you over and over.

“Would the cattle care for some hay?”

You blink to get out of your thoughts, and manage to get back to reality in time to see that your biological father is now standing on a block of hay, your boyfriend giving him a furious look from his place.

“ _Would the host care for an udder sandwich?_ ”

“I’m good! Chef will now judge the competition...” Chris’ smile seems to get wider. “ **Yo, Chef!** ”

As soon as he finishes, the ex-soldier arrives in front of you wearing a western pink dress with a matching hat, opening a range and starting to shake it to cool off. You can’t help but smile at the sight, wondering why Chef has been wearing so many dresses lately.

“Love the dress...” The host smiles evilly at his only friend. “… Chefette.”

He starts to laugh maniacally at his joke, unaware of the ex-soldier now groaning and giving him a death stare. All of you start to laugh when Chef grabs Chris by the back of his shirt to put him against the fence, also getting out a rope and attaching him to it.

“Maybe when I’ll change...” Chef points at Chris with a serious expression. “… I’ll come and untie you.”

He then takes part of his dress of the ground so he can walk away more easily, Chris now having lost his smile as he tries to wiggle his way out of the rope.

“I can’t feel my arms!” He sighs in defeat, giving everyone a sad look. “Let the cattle roping begging...”

You take a rope off the ground just as most of Gwen’s team runs away, you and your teammates sharing a small look before you all start running after them. While you don’t know which person you should try to catch, your eyes set on Beth roping Heather rather easily, the bald girl giving the nerd a shocked look.

“Where did you learn to do _that!?_ ”

“Cattle roping, the baton twirling...” Beth smiles proudly as she tightens the rope around Heather. “It’s all in the twist of the wrist!”

“ _Aaah!_ ”

You stop in your tracks upon hearing the scream and turn your head around to see none other than DJ dropping on the floor, Justin having caught him just now with his rope.

“Ha!” The model walks towards the jock laying on the floor, a smirk on his face. “For a big guy, you’re pretty unstable!”

“And that’s two cows down!” You notice Chris getting out of Chef’s trap, his smile back on his face. “Four more to go!”

“ _Ugh!_ ” You turn your head again to see that Lindsay has accidentally trapped herself with her rope, the girl now tied up at the fence. “None of this would be happening… if Chris had taken me to the mall… like he promised!”

“Oh, _shoot!_ ” You look in another corner to see Trent purposely miss Gwen with his rope, the boy giving out an awkward smile. “ _So_ ** _close._** ”

The blue-haired girl groans at her boyfriend, clearly frustrated by his actions, but the music boy only seems to send you a smile from his place… a smile you don’t return.

* * *

Gwen blows her nose in a tissue. “Okay, this has to stop! Why can’t Trent just play fair!?”

* * *

“He’s doing everything wrong!” You hide your face with your hands for a moment, then pull your hair back in frustration. “This is not helping me at all!”

* * *

“What girl doesn’t love when a dude helps her out?” Trent gives the camera a very confused look as he lists the things a guy will do for a girl. “Holds a door… opens a pickle jar… helps her get kicked off so she can go home...”

He shakes his head to get back to reality. “I mean helps her win a million dollars! Haha… yeah, that’s what I wanted to say.”

* * *

You don’t stare at Trent with a mean expression for too long though since Harold’s voice immediately gets your attention.

“Can’t catch me! Can’t catch me!”

You look back at the ginger-haired boy to see him stop in his tracks, Owen barely making up to him as he seems to have lost control of his breathing.

“He’s… right… I… can’t!”

The blond falls on the ground right after he says that, and the nerd boy takes the opportunity to just… walk away safely. You shake your head with a smile at that, finding the situation rather funny, until you spot Duncan running not too far away from you.

And so you found your prey.

“Careful, honey!” You swing your rope in the air as you follow him, your grin turning to an evil one. “I’m coming for you!”

He laughs at your threat, turning his head back at you while continuing running away with a dark glint in his eyes.

“Oh yeah? I would like to see you try, babe!”

His words make you giggle. “Just see what I have in store!”

You throw the rope at him when you believe you have a chance to catch him, but the punk takes you by surprise when he stops in his tracks and catches the rope in his hands and pulls it. You scream as you feel your body get yank rather violently towards him, ending up falling right into his chest and losing your cowboy hat in the process. You don’t have time to react that he’s already wrapping the rope around you, his grin stretching out into a proud one.

“Who’s getting caught now, huh?”

You blink a few times before you give him back a smirk.

“Well, you tell me.” You slowly approach your face to his, licking your lips. “Haven’t I stole your heart first?”

A blush spreads out on his cheeks, a rare sight in public. He takes off the udder hat of his head and throws it on the ground, the glint in his eyes getting more intense.

“ **God, I love you so fucking much.** ”

You let out a small chuckle before he crashes his lips against yours, one of his arms wrapping around your tied-up self while his other hand gets behind your head. Your smile stretches out from his actions, letting him take control of everything as you give him entrance to your mouth.

Trent, who has been sitting down on a rock while holding his head with his hands, has to force himself to tears his eyes away from the scene in front of him. Somehow, his heart feels hard and heavy inside his chest, and the music boy is confused as to why seeing you with your boyfriend would hurt him so much.

Why does it hurt so much?

“Got you, cowboy!”

His eyes go wide when he feels a rope get around him, the boy looking back at a proud Lindsay with a frustrated look.

“Lindsay… I’m on your team! Rope the cattle!” He points at Duncan, who is now attacking your face with his lips while you laugh happily. “You know? The people with udders?”

The blond snorts. “You’re funny!”

If he was funny, would you like him more?

Wait, why did he just think that-

“ _Rebellion!_ ”

His eyes go wide when he notices Gwen’s team running towards him and his teammates with ropes, having taken the ones Chef used to tied up Chris earlier. They probably got the idea of doing this when they saw Duncan roping you instead of the other way around, Leshawna also giving the punk a rope on the way so he can help them out. Trent and Lindsay don’t wait for long before they start running on the opposite direction of them with the rest of their team, for the small exception of you who have already been caught and instead just watch them get caught one by one.

“Not the face!” Justin gives Harold a horrified look, taking the ginger-haired boy by surprise. “Or the neck, hands, feet, legs, knees or anything in the chestful region!”

There’s a small silence where they stare at each other, then the model sits down on the ground in defeat, his arms around his legs to protect them as Harold puts the rope around him.

“Got ya!” His smile widens proudly. “That was too easy!”

Another rope gets around Justin, and Leshawna arrives with the same smile. “Hell yeah, sugar baby.”

You manage to take off the rope around and you and follow your friends over to where Justin, Leshawna and Harold are... just as Chris is about to give a speech.

“Well, what do we have here!” The host smiles wildly at the situation in front of his eyes. “The cattle have roped the cowboys! A bit unexpected, but… what the heck! The Gaffers win!”

Gwen’s team instantly cheer from the victory while you internally smile, having another chance to leave this place tonight. That is until Duncan ropes Harold and yanks him with all of his strength, the ginger-haired boy now looking pissed off on the ground.

“Um, hello!?” He looks back at Duncan, almost snarling. “We’re on the same team!”

“What?” The punk’s lips stretch out in an evil grin. “You’re gonna go all medieval camp on me?”

He laughs as he mummifies Harold with the rest of the rope, making you roll your eyes at him.

“Babe.” You put your hand on his shoulder, the boy turning his crazy eyes to you. “He had enough.”

“… fine.” He lets go of the small amount of rope he had left, wrapping his arm around your waist and kissing your cheek. “You’re more important anyway.”

You can’t help but let out a small smile, really thankful to have him here with you.

“You Grips are losers! And you know what happens to losers?” You turn your attention back to Chris, who’s looking angrily at Justin before he gets out an iron mark in the shape of an ‘L’ out of the campfire beside him. “Who wants to take the heat?”

Your eyes go wide in fear at the sight, most of your teammates already running away from the host.

_ He wouldn’t do it for real, would he? _

“Got anything in a (The first letter in your name)?” You give Trent an even more shocked look, the boy soon realizing what he just said. “Or… hum… a G?”

* * *

“G!?” Gwen gives the camera a disbelief look. “Like for ‘Gwen’!? Ugh! Trent wants to brand himself with _my_ initial! This is going way too far!”

* * *

“I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all!” You keep shaking your head, trying to forget what had just happened. “I love Duncan and Courtney with all of my heart, and that is _it_! Trent _can’t_ start liking me! He’s just gonna hurt himself!”

* * *

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” A hand appears in the frame to make the redness on Trent’s forehead disappear with some makeup, the music boy giving out a small smile. “Thanks.”

* * *

Chris throws the iron mark in water, then looks back at the camera without a smile.

“Legals says ‘branding’s out’.” He crosses his arms behind his back and gains back his usual grin. “Guess I’ll have to settle to booting one of the Grips off in the most exciting Gilded Chris ceremony ever!”

A smile breaks out on your face, but you hide it before anyone can see it.

“ _Now,_ go shower! You stink! _**Eeeew!**_ ”

* * *

You’re all standing in a line and waiting for your turn to take a bath in the barrel Chris and Chef gave you to shower, Harold having been in that said barrel for quite too long now.

“Hurry up, Harold!”

“Yeah, I have to go pee real bad! O-of course, I’d never go in the barrel.” You all quirk an eyebrow at Owen, who gives out an awkward smile before losing it. “… okay, I would.”

_ Glad I’m showering before you, then. _

You turn your attention back in front of you in time to see your boyfriend starting to shake the barrel around, making Harold hold onto it for dear life.

“But I haven’t finished soaking my hair!” His words seem to push Duncan over the edge as he throws the barrel on the ground, making the ginger-haired boy fall out. “Oh- _ow! **Soap in my eyes!**_ ”

“Babe.” Duncan turns to you with a grin but slightly loses it upon seeing your expression. “Cut it out.”

He looks back at Harold agonizing on the ground. “But he deserves it!”

“I think he got the message.”

He only groans as a response, knowing that you’re right even though he doesn’t want to agree, but his lips soon stretch out into a smile when you give his cheek a small kiss.

“But now I can go shower, so thanks.”

His grin widens. “You’re welcome.”

* * *

“I’d like _one_ good reason-” Leshawna stands up and hits the makeup board with her hands, an angry expression on her face. “-why that _punk-_ haired skull shirt wannabee keeps picking on poor Harold!”

* * *

“You wanna know why I pick on Harold? Here’s a hint.” Duncan starts emphasizing his explanation with movements from his hands. “She’s about this tall, has beautiful brown hair… _**and could tear you limb from limb.**_ ”

* * *

“No, it’s not a bear!” Duncan stares angrily at the camera before sweetening his expression for a moment. “It’s Courtney. _Harold_ got Courtney booted last season.”

He sits back down on the chair, his arms crossed behind his neck while he puts his feet on the makeup board.

“Yep. Payback’s a bitch.”

* * *

Trent walks out of the communal bathroom with a towel around his hips, another one in his hands as he tries his best to dry his hair with it. Gwen quirks an eyebrow and walks over to him, confused.

“What happened to 'bathing in the barrel' like the rest of us?”

Trent sighs. “I figured I’ve made enough of a fool of myself today.”

The blue-haired girl’s expression turns to a sad one, and Trent immediately has a bad feeling.

“Trent, we need to talk.”

His eyes give out a desperate glint. “ _ Please _ tell me this is not what I think it is.”

“It’s… what you think it is.”

“I told you not to tell me that!”

She puts her hand on his shoulder. “Trent, you’re a great guy, I mean that! But  _ this _ isn’t working! You’ve got your…  ** quirks ** and… I’ve got mine! I get that. But you’ve been throwing challenges for me and I need to win this fair and square… okay?”

Trent frowns in confusion. “I didn’t...”

… _do this for you._

She quirks an eyebrow at him, not sure to understand what he’s trying to say.

“I mean… what are you saying?”

“It’s over.”

He sighs a second time, looking down at the ground. “I hear you, loud and clear…”

It’s weird, he should be heartbroken right now, or at least feeling a little sad… so why does he feel like a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders?

Why does your smile keeps coming to his mind?

Gwen also looks down at the ground in shame. “I’m sorry.”

Justin squints his eyes at Trent and Gwen, hiding behind one of the trailers.

“ _ **Oh, you will be sorry.**_ ”

* * *

You and your teammates follow Justin over to the girls' trailer, the model having told you that he needed to show you something important. What is weird to you is that he didn’t seem to want to involve Trent, which gives you a bad feeling.

Especially when Gwen walks out of the girls’ trailer and Justin instantly gets in her face.

“ _Tell them what I just heard you say to Trent!_ ”

You share a confused look with Lindsay, Beth, and Owen, the four of you then looking back at Gwen for some explanation. The blue-haired girl’s face turns white upon getting confronted, but she gives out an awkward smile.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you-choo!” She fakes sneezing, her confidence slowly coming back. “Head cold, haha!”

“ _ **Fine.**_ ” Justin puts his hands on his hip. “ _I’ll_ do it, then.”

He turns to you and your friends, his expression dark and serious.

“Trent’s been purposely throwing off our challenges for _Gwen!_ ”

While your friends gasp in shock, your eyes go wide and your anxiety kicks in, but for a different reason than theirs.

_ No! Trent didn’t do it for her! He did it for me! _

“No!” Beth shakes her head in disbelief. “Gwen would never let Trent do that, ever! Right, Gwen?”

“Um… depends on how… there are other ways to…” Gwen’s heart twists in pain when she sees Beth’s betrayed expression, the blue-haired girl sighing. “… it’s true.”

Beth gasps a second time. “You two have been cheating?”

_ No! I cheated! I’ve been cheating since the beginning! _

“How could you!? You’re our friend!”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Gwen tries her best to explain herself. “I wasn’t in on it, I swear!”

_Because you had nothing to do with it!_ _Why can’t I say it out loud?_

Justin squints his eyes at her. “Why should we believe you?”

“… Because I broke up with Trent.”

You gasp in horror, a million scenarios coming into your head. If Gwen broke up with Trent, then there’s nothing to stop him from falling for you!

_ No, no, no, no, no, no- _

Justin scoffs. “This whole thing could be a ruse! Some… strategy to make it to the final two!”

“Wow...” Owen stares at Gwen in admiration. “Beauty _and_ brains!”

“I wasn’t _in_ on it!” Gwen walks over to you and takes your hand in hers, looking right into your eyes. “I swear! (Y/N), you gotta believe me.”

You manage to give out a small smile. “I believe you, Gwen.”

She gives back a smile, her tensed shoulder finally relaxing. But Justin points at her with the same hard expression as before.

“ _ **Prove it.**_ ”

“Fine!” She looks down at the ground as she frees your hands, trying to think of something. “Vote Trent off! Things have gotten way too complicated for us anyway. You’d be doing me a favor!”

_** NO, NOT HIM. VOTE FOR ME. ** _

“Great cherry cheesecake!” Owen holds his cheeks with his hands in shock before he squints his eyes at her. “She’s bluffing!

“ _We’ll just see about that._ ” Justin approaches the group, his hands still on his hips. “Either way, you **owe** us, Gwen.”

“ _ **No!**_ ” Your outburst surprises everyone as you give them a panic look. “Don’t vote for Trent! Vote for me!”

“But, (Y/N)...” Lindsay gives you a sad expression. “We don’t want to.”

“You’re very kind to want to protect Trent, but...” Beth puts her hand on your shoulder. “He’s the one in the wrong, not you.”

“No, guys! You don’t understand! Trent didn’t do all of this for Gwen, he did it for me!”

Gwen’s eyes go wide in confusion. “What?”

Justin quirks an eyebrow at you. “And why would he do that?”

“Because I’ve been trying to get kicked off since the beginning! _I just wanna leave this show!_ ”

“Oh, _really?_ ” Justin gets his face close to yours, not buying your words. “And why do you want to leave?”

“Because… Because...”

“Hm?”

_ I can’t say it. _

“We’re waiting, (Y/N).”

_** The truth will destroy my family. ** _

“I… I can’t tell you why.”

He gives out a proud smirk. “That’s what I thought.”

“Stop being a jerk, will you?” Gwen pushes him out of your way, and she gives you a sweet smile. “Look, (Y/N)… I know you don’t care about the prize, and you would rather give your place up for one of your teammates then watch them go, but Trent doesn’t deserve your kindness okay? Trust me, this is for the best.”

_ No, it’s not. _

But you can’t do anything now, can you?

* * *

You push the button right beside your picture on the electronic device despite knowing that you won’t be the one leaving tonight, your eyes looking back at Trent with a guilty expression. The music boy gives you a smile from his place, probably having voted for you to try and help you, and you have to force yourself to smile back even though your heart is getting torn apart by your emotions.

_ I fucking hate this. _

“ _The votes have been cast!_ ” You look back at your biological father, who’s wearing his blue suit and smiling like usual. “ _If you get a Gilded Chris, it means you’re safe! …_ _for now!_ ”

Chef walks over the host with the Gilded Chris in his arms, now wearing a purple bowtie and a black vest over his cook attire.

“ _What happened to your dress?_ ”

Chef squints his eyes at Chris, making a threatening movement with his left hand. The host loses his smile for a second, then he regains it and looks back at you and your friends.

“ _And the Gilded Chris goes to… Lindsay… and Beth._ ”

Both girls scream in happiness as they hug each other, Chef not waiting to throw them their golden chocolate.

“ _Justin and Owen..._ ”

Both boys catch the chocolate Chef throws them, you giving Trent a guilty side look.

“ _And last but not least..._ ” Chris’ smile seems to get wider. “ _(Y/N)!_ ”

You reluctantly catch the Gilded Chris, your eyes immediately looking down at the ground to avoid seeing Trent’s expression.

“What?” The music boy looks at you for a second, then back at Chris. “This has to be a mistake!”

“ _Trent, it’s time to go!_ ”

“But...” He looks back at you a second time, feeling a breath of courage. “I can’t leave without telling (Y/N) something!”

You tense up, your eyes slightly widening.

_** Oh fuck, he wants to confess. ** _

Chris frowns in annoyance. “ _ Yo, Chef! Little help here? _ ”

The ex-soldier cracks up his knuckles while walking over to Trent, the music boy’s eyes getting wider in fear. He turns to you and opens his mouth, and you can tell that he’s about to say the words when Chef interrupts him by putting him on his shoulder, walking away towards the limousine. Trent gets back a breath, his arm stretched out towards you.

“ _(Y/N)!_ ” Chef opens the limousine’s door, not bothered by Trent trying to wiggle out of his arm. “ _(Y/N), I love-_ ”

He gets thrown in the vehicle before he can finish his sentence, Chris arriving and closing the door with a proud smile.

“3:10 to Crazytown!” The vehicle starts driving away, Trent’s face popping out of the window for a second. “Trent is now on board!”

Owen giggles. “What do you think Trent was about to say?”

You know what he was about to say.

And you’re glad Chef and Chris stopped him in time.


	35. TDA: The Aftermath

**6 – The Aftermath**

Cue the intro music of the Aftermath, a few clips of Trent and (Y/N)  also appearing on the screen.

* * *

“ _I choose...” Trent points at you, his eyes showing determination. “The gorgeous and loving (Y/N)!”_

_You don’t have time to react that Duncan’s already in Trent’s face, holding up the music boy’ s shirt by his collar while threatening to throw his fist right in the middle of his face._

“ ** _ **Flirt with my girlfriend again and you’re dead.**_** _”_

* * *

“ _Hey, (Y/N).” You turn around just in time to see Trent smile at you, the music boy putting his hand on your shoulder. “Have I mentioned how beautiful and amazing you are?”_

_You can’t help but smile at him, even though you know he’s only saying that to spite his girlfriend._

“ _Thanks, Trent.” You put your hand on his own, your eyes sweetening. “You’re not bad yourself.”_

* * *

“ _Weird can be cool.” You give Trent a small smile to encourage him. “It usually depends on the level of weirdness. But I think in your case, you’re_ _ _just__ _the right amount of weird.”_

_His eyes sweeten at your words. “Thank you for saying that.”_

_A familiar glint passes through his eyes and your smile slightly falters._

* * *

“ _Everybody, tear up these magazines!”_

_When she says that, you notice that you’re still holding Trent’s hand, and so you free him to take a magazine and tear it up. You try to ignore the fact that your cheeks are getting warmer and you do your best to avoid looking at the music boy, which is an idea he also seems to be working on since his face is redder than usual._

* * *

_While the blue-haired girl’s team cheer up, you look back at Trent._

“ _Do you think you can walk?”_

“ _Yeah...” He gets his arm off your shoulder, a small smile on his lips. “Thanks for helping me.”_

_You give a smile back. “It’s the least I can do.”_

* * *

“ _The nine of Spades.” You give him a proud look, your lips turned into a smirk. “This is your card.”_

_He stares at it for a few seconds, then grins at you. “Nope.”_

_Your brain screams in disbelief._

“ _W-what?” You look down at your cards, confused. “How did I missed this? It’s a beginners trick!”_

_You look back at Trent when he suddenly starts chuckling. “I lied, it’s my card.”_

_His chuckle turns to a loud laugh when you start playfully hitting him in the shoulder._

“ _It’s not funny!” You don’t like how your words seem to increase his fun. “You’re not supposed to lie to a magician when he does a trick!”_

* * *

“ _Trent.” You give him a serious look, your voice almost lower than a whisper. “Did you land on the fence for me? So we could lose?”_

“ _I missed the horse for you.” He chuckles but stops when the movement it’s causing hurts him. “The rest was… unprepared.”_

“ _Oh god, Trent, no.” He seems confused by your reaction, and so you continue your explanation. “I don’t want you to help me if it means you get hurt…”_

_He smiles again at your kindness. “It’s fine...”_

“ _No, it’s not!” You start feeling desperate. “You could have had an even worse injury! And what if you get eliminated instead of me, huh? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself!”_

“ _Hey, I’m telling you, it’s fine.” He forces himself to stand straight without showing any sign of pain, but you can still see him flinch as he does so. “S-see? It doesn’t hurt anymore.”_

_Your expression falters as your heart burns from the sight. “Trent...”_

“ _And I don’t care if I get eliminated. It’s a risk I’m willing to take” His smile stretches out and he somehow seems determined. “For you.”_

* * *

_You let out a small chuckle before Duncan crashes his lips against yours, one of his arms wrapping around your tied-up self while his other hand gets behind your head. Your smile stretches out from his actions, and Trent, who has been sitting down on a rock while holding his head with his hands, has to force himself to tears his eyes away from the scene in front of him._

* * *

“ _But...” He looks back at you a second time, feeling a breath of courage. “I can’t leave without telling (Y/N) something!”_

_You tense up, your eyes slightly widening upon realization._

* * *

“ _ _(Y/N)!__ _” Chef opens the limousine’s door, not bothered by Trent trying to wiggle out of his arm. “_ _ _(Y/N), I love-__ _”_

_He gets thrown in the vehicle before he can finish his sentence, Chris arriving and closing the door with a proud smile._

* * *

Cue the intro of the Aftermath restarting as it shows the logo of the special episode, the camera soon showing Geoff and Bridgette sitting on  a red sofa and smiling brightly  at  the people applaud ing them.

“What’s going on, everyone?” Geoff puts his hand in the air, his smile not faltering as the camera focus on him. “Welcome to the brand new totally off the hook… Total Drama Action… _Aftermath show!_ ”

The public whistle s happily at Geoff’s introduction of the show, the camera focusing on Bridgette  right after .

“We’re coming to you live to ditch you everything Total… Drama… Action!”

“This… is where the _real_ action is!” Geoff’s smile widens as he hears the applause get louder. “Yeah! I’m Geoff-”

“-and I’m Bridgette!”

The blond cowboy points at the camera. “You may remember us from such series as Total Drama Island… and it’s even more thrilling sequel… Total Drama Action! Woohoo _!_ ”

“ **Which-** ” Bridgette frowns angrily at the camera, crossing her arms over her chest. “-we were voted off for _kissing!_ And lost out on a million bucks!”

The audience sadly agrees, Geoff sighing. “I still say, making out makes for awesome television… but, hey! Now we’ve got our own show and this is way more fun! Right?  _Yeah!_ ”

The public applause again, making the blond surf girl laugh happily.

“Right! Now we get to hang with you! And we’re super stoked for the new season.”

“What did you guys think of it so far?” Geoff wiggles his eyebrows at the camera. “The film lot, totally awesome, right?”

The audience instantly agrees, the blond cowboy continuing.

“We are _so_ psyched to be here!”

“ **Yeah, speak for yourselves.** ”

The camera takes a few meters back to show a few contestants sitting on Bridgette’s left, Eva being the one to have spoken up.

“Um...” Geoff frowns in confusion as he puts a hand on his chest. “I _was_ speaking for myself… but! Glad you reminded us you’re here! _Eva, everyone!_ ”

The tough girl awkwardly smiles and waves back at the camera while the public applauds her, the two new hosts explaining her  and the others’ presence.

“We’ve brought along all our peeps from the first season!”

“They may be losers, but not in our book. Right, Geoff?”

Katie and Sadie both hold their hands together as they give the two hosts sweet smiles.

“ _Awn!_ ”

“ _That is so sweet, you guys!_ ”

“Alright!” Geoff points at one of the contestants. “We’ve got Cody!”

The brown-haired boy winks at the camera while the screen splits  into two  to show the moment where he got hit in the balls to save Gwen, his credibility destroyed.

“And…” Bridgette smiles wider. “Noah!”

Noah simply gives a proud smug at the camera, the screen splitting  this time to show the incredible moment of when he kissed Cody’s ear in his sleep. Bridgette’s expression turns to a frustrated one when her eyes lay on the next contestant, remembering some.. things in the first season.

“ **Eze** **k** **iel.** ”

The boy doesn’t seem to be fazed by her tone at all, Geoff continuing the presentation.

“Let’s give it up for Eva!”

The screen shows one of the moments where she snapped, the girl almost biting Cody’s hand off as he was about to take her mp3 player from her pocket.

“Katie and Sadie!”

“Oh my gosh!”

“We’re so excited to be here!”

Geoff's lips stretch out. “And a shout out to Courtney!”

The brown-haired girl squints her eyes at a space as she talks to her phone.

“ _ **We are gonna sue the pants off this show, Michael. They’re destroying my relationship!**_ ”

Geoff awkwardly laughs and moves to the audience to tell them to shush.

“Whoops. O-okay!”

“And...” Bridgette goes on without getting bothered by Courtney’s outburst. “Tyler!”

“There you are, dude!” Geoff points at Tyler with a huge grin before looking at the camera. “Will somebody _please_ tell Lindsay?”

The public laughs at the cowboy’s joke, the camera  now  settling on Bridgette.

“We’ve also got a ton of comments from all of you! The author was kind enough to send them to us.”

“Plus!” Geoff looks up at the giant screen behind him, Bridgette nodding at his explanation. “We’ll have a couple of you on webcam! Which is _super,_ _ **super**_ cool!”

“Izzy- I mean… Kaleidoscope will be here!”

“And, of course…!” Geoff takes a small pause for suspense. “… _Trent!_ ”

The audience cheers louder, the two hosts waiting for them to finish before talking.

“Awn… poor Trent, right?” Bridgette expression turns to a sad one. “What happened to him is just so wrong!”

“ _Wrong?_ ” Courtney takes her attention away from her phone, her eyes squinting at the blond. “ _ **Are you kidding me?**_ ”

“We felt _so_ terrible for Trent! Like, he went nuttier than my sister’s peanut allergy!” Sadie gives out a smile and waves at the camera. “Hi, Cindy!”

Courtney tightens her grip on her phone, almost destroying it.

“But he’s still super cute!” Katie loses her smile as she reckons the events. “I barf in my mouth a little every time I think of what I’ve happened to him!”

“Oh my gosh, me too!”

“ _ **Oh, for hell’s sake!**_ ” Courtney stands up, pointing her finger at the fake twins in anger. “ _ **He deserved it!**_ ”

“Um.. okay, cool. Thanks for that.” Geoff’s voice brings her back to reality and she sits down, her arms crossed over her chest while the blond goes back to smiling at the camera. “It’s almost time to welcome our first guest! But first...”

He points at the screen on the wall.

“Take a look.”

A few silent clips of Izzy’s greatest moments in Total Drama Action appear on the screen, the two hosts’ voices introducing the ginger-haired girl to the world.

“Izzy’s time on Total Drama Action may have been short...”

“But it was a real wild ride!”

“The girl got a **Monster** crush!”

The image stops on the girl smiling up at the animatronic monster, a red heart getting drawn around her face before it moves on to the next set of clips.

“And later, suffered a serious blow at the hands of Chef Hatchet!”

Bridgette laughs  when the screen  pauses to show the ex-soldier’s horrified face, a red circle getting drawn  around it.

“Chef thinks he killed her… look how freaked he is!”

“Serves the dude right!” Geoff laughs, then gasps when he sees Izzy about to move on from her fake death. “Oooh, watch! _Love_ this part.”

Izzy jumps up in front of Hatchet with a wide smile on her face,  shocking him even more.

“Check her out! **Glorious** , man! But really, it was Duncan that _killed_ Izzy’s chances when the two took to the stage!”

“ _Oooh,_ the drama!”

Geoff chuckles and gives out a huge smile. “(Y/N) almost got voted off instead of Izzy, but her sincere apology at the last minute saved herself from leaving the show!”

“But ever the diva, Izzy will be back for more!” The camera leaves the giant screen to go back to the two hosts, Bridgette continuing her explanation. “Our first guest has impersonated a grizzly and was caught peeing in a pool! Currently number eight on the RCMP’s most wanted… Izzy, aka Kaleidoscope!”

The audience cheers as Bridgette shows the side of the TV set to show off Izzy arriving, but the blond soon loses her smile when the crazy ginger-haired girl doesn’t walk out of her of the backstage like she was supposed to do. The surf girl shares a small glance with her boyfriend, who simply points up at the screen behind him to show that Izzy is, indeed, still sitting in the backstage area, eating some food and watching the TDA Aftermath show on the TV screen inside the lounge.

“ _Oh!_ _I’m on TV!_ ” She sneezes, a whole bunch of cracker crumbs getting out of her mouth. “ _Oops, haha. Cracker crumbs, you get back here!_ ”

She catches the crumbs in mid-air and puts them back in her mouth, the girl soon then taking a few green grapes and a cheese cracker to hide them in her shirt between her boobs. The public laughs at her action, then cheer happily when she finally walks out from the backstage lounge to go on the TV set, the girl excitedly waving back at them on her way.

“Hi, Bridgette. Hi, Geoff.” The ginger-haired girl sits down on the green sofa to the hosts’ left. “So glad to be here.”

“Awesome to have you!” The cowboy blond slightly loses his smile. “But bummer about the show… gotta be tough losing out of a million big ones.”

“Yeah, well...” Izzy’s lips stretch out. “You would know.”

Bridgette frowns at the crazy girl, but Izzy doesn’t seem to be phased by her reaction as she just waves at the others sitting across from her.

“Hi, you guys!”

Katie and Sadie wave back. “Hi, Izzy!”

“Hi, everyone on there on TV land…!” The ginger-haired girl stops waving to take a closer look at the audience, her smile soon widening. “Graham Cracker! That’s my old boyfriend Graham!”

The two hosts roll their eyes in boredom while Izzy goes on to explain her relationship with said Graham.

“He got a restraining order against me last year.” She giggles evilly. “Remember that, Graham? _So_ funny. Okay, we were in the courtroom, and the judge was all like… ‘ _ **You cannot come within two hundred meters of the plaintiff or you shall suffer the consequences of this courtroom!**_ ’”

She gives out a long laugh after her impression of the judge.

“The long-distance was hard, but we made it work. By the way, Graham… you should get new blinds for your room. What are they made off, leg? Hahaha! I couldn’t see a thing with my binoculars! Hahaha! Miss you, Graham Cracker.”

She gets out the cracker from her top.

“I’m so into crackers right now. They are _so_ flaky.”

She engulfs the cheese cracker in one bite, the whole audience gasping in admiration just as Bridgette smiles.

“Kind of like… someone _we_ know.”

Geoff scoffs to get back the attention before the audience can react, taking the lead with the conversation.

“So… Izzy! How did it feel to be the first one voted off the show?”

“I don’t know, Geoff.” Her smile turns to evil. “How _did_ it feel?”

The blond cowboy frowns in confusion, then turns his head towards his girlfriend for an explanation.

“ _We_ were the first ones voted off the show.”

Izzy’s chuckle gets his attention back.

“Was it disappointing? _Humiliating?_ ” She points at Geoff happily. “A _sobbing_ experience, Geoff?”

“Sure, it was disappointing… I mean, it’s like you’ve got dreams for this money and...” He blinks in the realization of something, his expression hardening. “Hey, man! I’m supposed to be asking the questions!”

Izzy’s lips stretch out. “My life is an open book! Well, I… not yet. But it will be once I write it… and you open the book! Hahahaha!”

Bridgette quirks an eyebrow. “What went through your head after being voted off?”

“When you realize you’re not getting a Gilded Chris Award… Well…” The ginger-haired girl’s expression falters to a sad one. “… I can’t lie to you!”

She starts sobbing, making the hosts feel bad for judging her so quick.

“Awn...” Bridgette gives out a comforting smile. “It’s that painful to remember?”

“Nah, I just can’t lie to you.” A smile breaks out of her lips, the girl now pointing at her neck. “I was outfitted with a lie detector microchip that emits shock waves at the first hint of dishonesty.”

Her eyes look down at Bridgette’s clothes.

“That’s a really nice top, Bridge- _Ow!_ ” Her face scrunches up from the electric wave, then she gives out a smile. “Hahaha!”

“Um… okay...” Geoff shakes his head and moves on to another subject. “So, what exactly did losing out on the Gilded Chris meant to you?”

“It meant I missed out on that buttery statuette chocolate. _Oh!_ ” She raises a finger as she remembers something. “I once took an art class sculpting chocolate nudes… My instructor said I had a real flair for coco- _Ow!_ Okay, okay!”

She laughs out loud, not bothered by the electric waves.

“He said I was totally loco! Hahaha! That’s what he said!”

Geoff ignores her and smiles widely as he turns to the camera.

“I think it’s time we play a fun little game called… _Truth or Hammer!_ ” He laughs while the intro of the game plays to you, then he looks back at Izzy. “It works like this. We ask you a question, and if you give the wrong answer, a huge hammer will swing down and knock you clear out of your chair! Hahahaha…! Cool?”

“If my implant doesn’t get me, the hammer will!”

As soon as Izzy gives out an awkward laugh, Geoff’s smile turns to an evil one. “Should we give it a test run?”

The ginger-haired girl jumps out of the way just as she was about to get hit by the giant hammer, her laugh soon being heard while she gets out from behind the sofa and sits back down.

“Miss me!”

“Nice one, Iscope!” Geoff turns to his girlfriend, who’s been sitting there smiling for a while. “Bridge? A question please?”

“Um… yeah!” She looks away as she thinks, then gives out a smile. “Okay. Season 2 started so well for you, where did things go wrong?”

Izzy takes a moment to think. “I think it was when I turned down that secret alliance with Chef.”

Gasps can be hard from all around the room, Geoff behind the one that seems the most shocked upon hearing the news.

“You mean… Chef actually tried to form a secret alliance with you?”

“Huh-huh. He said he’d help me win this thing if I shared the money with him. But I said no, and then I think he went to see (Y/N).”

Another gasp gets out of Geoff’s mouth, but this time, it’s Bridgette who’s the most shocked.

“You mean… (Y/N) is in a secret alliance with Chef?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. She doesn’t seem to be very interested in winning the money, just like last season.”

“Wait a minute-” Geoff puts his hand to his ear, trying to listen to what the producers are telling him. “I think we’ve got two never seen before clips! Awesome!”

* * *

“ _ **(Y/N).** ” You jumped up in fear, then look up to see Chef staring at you. “I need to talk to you, do you have a minute?”_

“… _yeah, sure.” You look back down at the script, not even bothered by him. “But can you make it quick? I still have a lot of things to check before we film.”_

_ He quirks an eyebrow at you, wondering why you’ve been acting so weird since you came back on the show. _

“ _I have a proposition for you.”_

“ _Huh-huh.” You continue to look through the pages, half-listening. “What is it?”_

“ _I want us to be in an alliance, you and me. And when you win, we split the million fifty-fifty.”_

_ You stop reading the script in shock, then you blink a couple of times before looking back up at him. _

“… _wait, what?”_

_ He crosses his arms over his chest. “I think I’ve been pretty clear.” _

“ _But… wouldn’t an alliance with you be… against the rules?”_

“ _Who cares about the rules?” He squints his eyes at you. “Do you accept the offer or not?”_

_ You sigh and put the script aside. “Is this about how Chris hasn’t paid you yet?” _

“ _That’s none of your business!” You quirk an eyebrow at him and he stares back at you in silence for a few seconds. “… but yes, it’s because of that.”_

“ _Look, I’m sorry, Chef, but I’m not interested in winning this season. Like at all.” You go back to reading the script while you walk away from him. “You’re gonna have to find someone else.”_

_ He gives you a shocked look as you leave him behind, the ex-soldier then looking at the camera with the same expression. _

* * *

“Wow!” Geoff chuckles at the screen. “(Y/N) was pretty cold there, wasn’t she?”

Bridgette frowns in worry, wondering why you seem so tense. “That’s not like her...”

“Anyway!” Her boyfriend interrupts her by pointing at the audience. “We still have one clip to see! So… let’s hit it!”

* * *

“ _I’ll help you man up and win this thing.” Chef smiles at Izzy while explaining his plan. “We split the prize money, fifty-fifty.”_

_ He hands out his hand for her to shake it, but the girl just stares at it for a second before she kicks him away with all of her strength, revealing a familiar blond intern that was hidden by Chef’s form. _

“ _ **Oh.** ” Izzy points at Chef’s body on the ground, her lips stretch into an evil grin. “I don’t think so, ha hahaha!_”

* * *

Geoff chuckles as the camera focus back on him and Bridgette. “Wow!”

Bridgette smiles brightly. “I can’t believe Chef did that!”

“And awesome impact! _Ooh!_ Check it!”

The screen shows a slow-motion of when Izzy kicked Chef in the chest area, the camera then zooming on the intern’s blond face.

“Oh-oh!” Bridgette points at him. “Look at that poor guy! David, right? (Y/N)’s intern friend, I think.”

“Dude thinks he’s next!”

Geoff and Bridgette laugh out loud while Izzy gives out a sweet smile.

“I would never hurt that intern- _Woah!_ ” She jumps in the air to avoid the swing of the giant hammer, then sits back down. “Hahaha! Nearly got me that time!”

David, who had been standing on the side of the TV set for this whole time, doesn’t wait for another second to run away in fear under the audience’s laughter, the camera going back to Geoff.

“So...” Geoff looks back at Izzy in confusion. “After going to you and (Y/N)… what happened next?”

“My guess is that he made a demon deal with DJ.” She takes a small pause as she thinks. “Yeah, I think Chef threw the acting challenge with Duncan so DJ’s team won and I lost… but hey, what do I know?”

“A… lot, apparently.”

Bridgette smiles at the camera. “Let’s hear from the readers now!”

She looks down at the electronic tablet in front of her to pick a question.

“Here’s one question we’ve got for you from Gayby… ‘What is your favorite contestants and you’re least favorite contestants? All from TDI included’. _Oooh._ This will be interesting.”

The majority of the contestants sitting on Bridgette’s left stares back at Izzy in silence, some of them hopeful and others in threat while Courtney still seems to be on the phone with her attorney.

“Hahaha!” Izzy doesn’t seem to be scared by the question since her crazy smile is still present on her face. “Obviously my favorite contestant is Owen. That guy is _so_ sweet and funny. Have you ever met him? Hahaha, what am I talking about, of course, you met him, hahaha. But if I have to say other names, um…. Well, I do have some respect for Eva and Courtney, so I guess they can be in my top three.”

Eva and Courtney both quirk an eyebrow at that, not sure how to take the crazy girl’s words.

“My least favorite contestants...” She squints her eyes as she thinks, then lets out another laugh. “I don’t think I dislike anyone! But if I had to choose, I think right now it would be (Y/N).”

Everyone gasps in shock at her words, not having expected that.

“(Y/N)?” Bridgette holds her head in disbelief. “Why would you hate (Y/N)?”

“Hahaha, silly! I don’t hate her! She was just really mean to me in the acting contest, that’s all.” Her expression slightly darkens. “It’s not like I want her to die or anything...”

Her usual cheerful laugh turns to an evil one, and Bridgette sends her boyfriend a desperate look.

“U-um, speaking of (Y/N), here’s another question from Jaydonrocks7!” Geoff smiles awkwardly as he looks down at the electronic tablet. “And what they wanna know is… ‘Do you think that (Y/N) will make it far’?”

Izzy scoffs. “Not with her new attitude, no. But then again, she’s (Y/N). So I don’t think people will vote her off for a while.”

Bridgette frowns in worry, not liking all those stuff she’s hearing about you. It seems to her like something bad might have happened to you… why hasn’t she noticed anything before?

“Hey, look!” Izzy bends her arm in a very weird way without having any pain. “I can do that! Did you know I could do that?”

Geoff quirks an eyebrow at her, then turns towards his girlfriend.

“Should we move on to Trent?”

Courtney’s grip on her phone tightens at the sound of his name.

“Yeah!” Izzy puts both of her arms in the air happily. “On to Trent!”

The audience cheerfully agrees, leaving no choice to Bridgette but to continue to the next subject.

“Trent is such a standup guy…” She looks back at her friends on her left with a small smile. “He did _not_ deserve what happened, right?”

“Oh!” Sadie makes a movement with her hand. “Totally not!”

“ _ **What?**_ ” Courtney squints her eyes at Bridgette. “I thought you’d be on my side!”

Bridgette ignores her and looks back at the camera. “And all because of Gwen!”

“Woah! Back up, Bridge.” Geoff shakes his head at her. “Couples break up, it wasn’t Gwen’s fault! If anything, it was (Y/N)’s.”

“How is it (Y/N)’s fault? She tried to help him stay on the show! Gwen was the reason Trent lost out on a million bucks!”

Geoff scoffs. “So? Gwen went behind Trent’s back and told his team to vote him off? That doesn’t mean-”

The whole audience gasps, cutting the blond off.

“Woah...” He notices how everyone around him is looking at him in pure shock, making him stare back at them in confusion. “… what?”

Bridgette slowly points at the screen behind him, revealing Trent with the most horrified expression you could ever see.

“Uh, man! What- You’re kidding? Gwen did what!?” Trent holds his head in total disbelief, which makes Courtney smiles victoriously. “This is a joke, right?”

“Woah...” Geoff looks around as he points at Trent’s face on the screen. “Did someone not tell the dude? Oh, shoot, sorry man.”

The screen disappears to give the hosts a little privacy with the rest of the audience, Bridgette sending her boyfriend a hard look.

“You just had to tell him like that.”

“How was I supposed to know?” He gives out a small chuckle, but he stops and awkwardly smiles when Bridgette’s eyes seem to get meaner. “Okay… that was harsh… tough break!”

Geoff stands up, looking directly at the camera to try and make his point.

“Gwen might have asked his team to vote him off, but the dude was purposely throwing off all of their challenges! They would have done it anyway! And he was doing that for _(Y/N)_ if I might remind you, not Gwen.”

A part of the audience claps his words, the boy sitting down and smiling proudly at himself while Bridgette gives out a hard laugh.

“Haha… _maybe._ ” She points at him while revealing her point. “But Gwen _stabbed_ him in the back, dumped him and told his team to vote him off the show to cover her own butt! _**That’s low!**_ And what did (Y/N) do? Oh, right! She tried to stop him from throwing the challenges while also helping him feel better about his relationship with Gwen, and she even begged her team to not vote him off!”

“I agree that my girlfriend is very kind and generous...” Courtney gives out a small smile at the thought of you, but she soon loses it for an angry expression. “But she’s _**my**_ girlfriend! _**Trent has no right to like her!**_ ”

“Gwen should pay...” Eva hits the palm of her hand with her fist. “ _ **...but so should Trent!**_ ”

“Yeah!” Geoff looks back at his girlfriend with a frustrated look. “Trent isn’t innocent in this, Bridge! He fell in love with (Y/N) when he was still with Gwen!”

Bridgette’ eyes widen for a moment. “We don’t know that for sure! He never said he liked her like that!”

“Are you serious, babe? It’s obvious the guy has the hots for her!”

The surf girl puts her arms in the air in desperation. “And as I said, you don’t have any proof!”

Geoff chuckles at her. “A guy doesn’t need proof to show that someone has fallen in love with the greatest girl on the show.”

Every girl around gasp in horror at what he just said, the boy not understanding why everyone seems so shocked again.

“.. what?”

“I… _cannot…_ _ **believe…!**_ ” Bridgette stands up from the sofa, her fists tightening while she tries her best to hold her tears back. “… that you just said that (Y/N) is the greatest girl on the show!”

“Yeah…? So…?” He looks back at Izzy to see that she’s now hiding behind the green sofa in fear, the cowboy now starting to feel nervous. “What, you don’t agree with me? I thought she was your best friend!”

“Well, she _is!_ And for _**me**_ , she’s the greatest girl on the show…”

He seems to instantly understand his mistake, and so he puts his hands in front of him as he tries to pick up the metaphorical broken pots of his relationship.

“Well, it’s the truth…! But, you’re super great too, Bridge. I mean, you’re hot, sweet and caring, you know? (Y/N) is just… more...”

“ _More what?!_ ” She pushes him on the ground, her anger rising. “Have you forgot that I’m your girlfriend?!”

“No, but…”

“Oh! And yet you still think that I’m not the greatest chick on the show!” She points at him, her eyes hardening. “Well, maybe you should be dating (Y/N) instead!”

Courtney’s eyes almost pop out of her skull. “ _**Excuse me?** _ ”

Geoff stands up with the same anger as his girlfriend. “Well, maybe you should be going out with Trent! You’re sure defending the dude enough-”

“Um...” Izzy surprised them as she appears between them, the girl pulling her eyelids. “Have I ever shown you guys what I can do with my eyelids?”

Bridgette looks at the camera. “I think it’s time we take a break.”

“ _Oh! Now you wanna_ _ **break up!?**_ ” Geoff walks away with tears in his eyes, then sits down with his arms crossed over his chest. “Well, that’s just _great_ , Bridge!”

“I think she meant a break for ads...” Izzy approaches her face to the camera, her smile feeling uneasy with her eyelids pulled like that. “We’ll be right back!”

* * *

“This chapter of Slaves of Drama special TDA Aftershow… was brought to you by Chef’s roadkill café.” The camera zooms out to reveal the ex-soldier standing behind a table full of disgusting food. “We’re Sundays off and bring your own meat! You hit it, we spit it!”

* * *

The show goes back to the two hosts turning their back on each other with their arms crossed over their chest, Izzy sitting between them and trying her best to continue the show on her own.

“And we’re back! And we’re talking Gwen, Trent and (Y/N) with Geoff and Bridgette!” Izzy giggles as she raises a finger. “Got a _little_ sidetracked… but we’re good now! Right, guys?”

Geoff sighs in frustration. “Fine, right. Whatever.”

Bridgette rolls her eyes in annoyance before turning her head back to Izzy.

“ _Fine._ ”

“Okay!” Izzy goes back to look at the camera. “Seems our lovebirds can’t agree on anything! Bridgette’s on-”

“Team Trent!”

“And Geoff’s on-”

“Team... Gwen!” The blond cowboy tightens his fist in the air. “Wou… _hoo!_ ”

They both squint their eyes threateningly at each other, making Izzy very uncomfortable.

“We need a little help settling this little love quarrel… so, thanks for all your comments!” Her eyes widen upon realization of something. “Oh! My oh my, will you look at that? We have a question for Bridgette!”

“What?” Geoff turns to Izzy in one swing, Bridgette blinking in shock. “She’s one of the hosts, she can’t get any questions!”

“Looks like she can! So, Bridgette…” The ginger-haired girl giggles as she turns towards the surf one. “Here’s the question from someone named Raven… ‘How do you feel about (Y/N)’s relationship with Courtney and Duncan?’”

The blond stares back at Izzy in silence for a while before she looks at Courtney on her left, only to see that the brown-haired girl’s teeth are showing while her eyes are dead caught on the blond’s form, watching every movement from her and waiting for her answer patiently.

“Um… I mean… (Y/N) is happy, right?” Courtney gives out an instant smile as she nods at the blond. “Isn’t that all that matters?”

“Maybe in _your_ world, but not in showbiz! Come on, Bridge-” Izzy nudges the blond’s side with her elbow. “You can tell us!”

Bridgette gives Courtney one last look, then sighs.

“At first I thought it was great, but...” She avoids looking at Courtney’s expression, slightly playing with the end of her blue top. “… honestly, I don’t think it’s a healthy relationship anymore.”

Everyone gasp in shock, Courtney standing up with an expression of hate. “ _**What? How dare you-** _ ”

“ _Shh!_ ” Izzy shushes Courtney before she can say anything else, the crazy girl smiling wildly at Bridgette. “Really? How unexpected from you! What’s the reason? Do you think she should stick with one more than the other?”

“No, I… I think she should find someone else.” She looks down for a second, not wanting to say anything. “Courtney has some… anger issues… and Duncan’s a jerk! (Y/N)’s deserves better!”

Courtney has to try her best to contain herself while Izzy’s lips stretch out.

“And who would (Y/N) deserve exactly?”

“Someone…”

“Someone..?”

“ _S-someone like Trent! Okay?_ ” Another set of gasps, this time even louder than before as Bridgette throws her arms in the air in annoyance. _“He’s sweet and kind and he really loves her!_ _ **Unlike them!**_ ”

“ _ **I thought you were on my side!**_ ” Bridgette’s skin turns whiter than a vampire’s as she sees Courtney about to jump on her, the girl’s cellphone broken on the floor. “ _ **I’m gonna kill you-**_ ”

“Oh! Here’s a question for Courtney!” Izzy’s words bring the brown-haired girl’s attention towards her, the ex-CIT being surprised and confused. “It’s another question from Raven. Haha! Can you believe it? So awesome.”

Courtney sits down, her arms crossed over her chest. “Just ask me your stupid question.”

Izzy clears her throat before talking. “Since Bridgette thinks Duncan’s a jerk, let’s ask you this… ‘Do you think Harold deserves the treatment Duncan is giving him?’”

Courtney blinks in confusion for a few seconds, then gives out an annoyed expression.

“Seriously? _That_ question? Right now?” Izzy nods happily, and the brown-haired girl sighs in frustration. “ _Fine._ Here’s my answer: does Harold deserve that treatment? No, of course not!”

Bridgette gives her a long look, wondering if she might have misjudged her.

“ _ **That little dweeb deserves something worse than death itself and I’m gonna bring it to him when I get the chance!**_ ”

Nevermind, she didn’t.

“See?” The surf girl points an accusing finger at the ex-CIT. “This is the kind of behavior that makes me believe (Y/N) deserves better than you and Duncan!”

“Oh, _you_ can talk!” Courtney almost snarls at the blond. “Where were you when she needed her best friend? Huh?”

“What are you talking about?”

“(Y/N) has been distressed ever since she came back for season two, desperately wanting to find a way to talk to you alone! And what did you do? Oh, _yeah!_ That’s right! You just make out with your boyfriend all day!”

Bridgette’s eyes give out a sad glint as she looks down in guilt. Is that really what happened? Was she so selfish with her relationship that she didn’t notice how much you needed her?

“To be honest, Courtney’s right.”

Izzy’s words are like a sharp knife cutting through her heart, but the ginger-haired girl moves on as she smiles wildly.

“ _Hey!_ ” Geoff gives Izzy and Courtney sharp. “I won’t let you insult my babe like that! She’s more kind and caring than you two could ever be!”

“Awn… thanks, babe.” Bridgette gives out a small smile, then loses it. “But I’m still going for Trent.”

He goes back to cross his arms over his chest, looking away with a frustrated look. “Well, I’m still going for Gwen!”

“Okay… we know how you _two_ feel… and Courtney...” The brown-haired girl snaps her mouth at the air, almost making Izzy jump up in fear. “Hahaha! Funny… but let’s hear from everyone else!”

Sadie raises her hand to speak first.

“At first, I was totally on team Trent… I mean, poor guy! But learning about how he fell in love with (Y/N) when he was still with Gwen, it made me remember how it would have destroyed Gwen if she had learned about it!”

“Um...” Katie quirks an eyebrow at her friend. “You mean he fell in love with (Y/N)… _after_ Gwen kept treating him in a shitty way.”

Sadie frowns in annoyance. “Same thing!”

“Um, no! It is not!” Katie puts her hands on her hips. “That’s like you saying you got our fave blue swimsuit in the second grade before I did… when _I_ got it first!”

“ _You did not!_ ”

“ _Did too!_ ”

“I’m definitely team Gwen.” Cody nods at his answer and shows Gwen's bra. “She’s hot, and I have her bra.”

Noah quirks an eyebrow at the brown-haired boy. “Why do you keep reminding me that every five minutes?”

“U-um...” Cody looks down at his knees, his face reddening. “No reason...”

Noah gives out a small smile at the sight.

“I’m on team Gwen!” Courtney squints her eyes at Izzy and the two hosts. “Not because I _like_ her… but because Trent likes my girlfriend… _and…_ _ **he’s a loser by choice!**_ ”

“Yeah, yeah, honey. We already knew that.”

Courtney scoffs in disbelief when Izzy dismiss her comment, the ginger-haired girl continuing to move the show along.

“Maybe it’s time we bring out Trent.”

The giant screen comes down from to reveal the music boy still sitting on the backstage lounge’s sofa, but now holding his guitar and singing a song with a hard look on his face.

“ _You went behind my back!_ ” He plays the strings rather harshly, probably thinking of how Gwen betrayed him. “ _In the worst kind of attack!_ _ **Now you find me gone! I’m no longer your pawn!**_ ”

He suddenly ends the song and stares at a space, trying his best to regain control on his heavy breathing. He jumps up in surprise when the audience applauds him, the music boy now noticing that he had people watching him for who knows long.

“ _Huh?_ ”

Bridgette smiles as she points at Trent on the screen, the boy now giving out an awkward smile. “Our next guest was unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend and cheated out of a million bucks!”

Trent hurries up to leave the backstage area with his guitar in his hands, a panic look on his face.

“Please welcome...” Bridgette’s lips stretch out when she sees the music boy appearing on stage. “ _Trent!_ ”

The music boy waves at the audience on his way back, sitting down beside Izzy while still holding onto his guitar.

“We’re live on the TDA Aftermath with Trent, everyone!”

Geoff points at the guy with a smile. “Good to have you on the show, dude. Brutal about before!”

Bridgette sends her boyfriend a hard look. “ _Geoff_ is  _very_ sorry about what  _happened_ earlier.”

“It’s cool.” Trent shrugs, a dark glint passing through his eyes. “It wasn’t **his** fault.”

A cracking sound can be heard, and they all look back at Courtney to see her trampling her broken cellphone on the ground with her foot, her eyes staring right back at Trent.

“ _ **I’m watching you, loser.**_ ”

“So...” Bridgette’s expression turns to a sad one. “… what happened, Trent?”

“Um...” Trent blinks a couple of times, looking away from Courtney as he tries to focus on the question. “I’m not really sure. Things were going great until Gwen and I were split into different teams… then she and Duncan started hanging out.”

“ _ **Oh, Duncan!**_ ” Courtney tightens her fists together. “ _ **He is so gonna get it!**_ ”

Why the hell did he think he could leave you alone with Trent? And why the hell did he think he could casually flirt with Gwen without any consequences!?

“And then the competition set in...”

“And...” Bridgette raises a finger. “Something else.”

“You mean...” Trent has difficulties to let the words out. “… how crazy things got?”

Geoff smiles wildly. “How crazy  _you_ got for (Y/N)!”

“(Y/N)?” Trent laughs awkwardly. “What do you mean? I was just trying to help out a friend.”

“That’s not what our readers think! Be careful how you answer their questions because the great big hammer can come down and...” Geoff’s expression turns to an evil one as he laughs. “… _knock you right out of your pants!_ ”

“Huh?” Trent’s eyes give out worry as he scratches the back of his neck. “I mean… I guess I decided that (Y/N) was more important than the money...”

“Yes… but...” Geoff evil smile stretches out. “Why was _she_ more important than money?”

Trent opens and closes his mouth over and over, not capable of giving a real answer.

“Maybe this question from Raven will help you a little...” The blond cowboy looks down at the electronic tablet with a smile. “What do you think of everyone? _Including_ (Y/N)?”

The music boy takes a moment before answering, giving out a small smile.

“I think everyone’s great! Seriously, you’re all so nice and caring… I couldn’t ask to spend my summer with any other people.” He loses his smile for a second, frowning. “Except for Duncan. If that dude and his Mohawk could just disappear, I would be very happy.”

“Hm… interesting.” Geoff fakes scratching his chin in wonder. “So you think (Y/N) is nice and caring...”

“Well, yeah… isn’t she?”

“According to _Geoff-_ ” The blond tenses up when his girlfriend sends him a glare. “Yes, she is.”

Geoff coughs up, stopping the conversation. “Speaking of you hating Duncan, here’s another question from one of our readers. This time it’s Charlie asking this: ‘What’s your opinion on (Y/N) dating Duncan? Do you think she deserves better?’”

“It’s not my place to talk about that...” Trent’s eyes widen when he sees Geoff silently threaten him with his eyes, gulping with difficulties. “But… I don’t understand what she sees in that guy. I mean, seriously? He’s such a… jerk! So yeah, she deserves better.”

Bridgette tilts her head at him, a sweet smile on her lips. “Someone… like _you_?”

They ignore Courtney’s groan from behind them, the girl trying her best to not jump at them while Trent stares back at them in confusion.

“U-um… I.. why- I mean… what-why would you say that-”

“Here’s a question from Jamarya.” Bridgette’s smile widens upon reading the question. “Their question is… ‘Were you thinking of kissing (Y/N)? And if you could, would you?’”

Courtney stands up dramatically. “ _ **What-**_ ”

“ _Oh my god, will you shut up?_ ” Eva sends the brown-haired girl a death stare, tired of the girl’s bullshit. “I wanna know Trent’s answer!”

“I-I...” His lips turn to an awkward smile. “I’m not sure what Jamarya is referring to.”

“Oh, you’re sure?” Geoff takes out a remote control from his back and points it at the screen. “Maybe this will refresh your memory.”

* * *

“ _When I was a kid, my grandfather gave me a toy train.” He gives out a sad smile, memories flashing through his eyes. “I really loved that train, you know? It was the greatest thing in the world and I was always playing with it. But shortly before my grandfather died, a wheel fell off, leaving only nine instead of ten.”_

_You feel your heart sting in pain and you put your deck of cards back in your hoodie. “I’m sorry for your loss.”_

“ _Thanks.” His eyes set on you for a moment, his lips slightly stretching out. “I was devastated. I was sure that it was because I broke the train that my grandfather died.”_

“ _That’s not true.” You put your hand on top of his, trying to give him comfort. “You had nothing to do with it.”_

“ _I know that now.” He grabs your hand between his own unconsciously. “But back then, I was just a child, and I have to thank my mom for helping me. She managed to convince me that the fact the train broke was a message for me to spend more time with my grandfather before he died, and the number nine was, therefore, my lucky number.”_

_You give out a sweet smile. “I like that thought.”_

“ _Yeah… me too.” A familiar glint appears in his eyes as he looks at you, his expression turning to a calm one. “You’re very sweet, you know that?”_

_You can’t help the heat from spreading inside your chest. “You’re pretty kind yourself, you know...”_

_He looks down at your lips for a second-_

* * *

“ _ **There!**_ ” Trent’s face whitens when Geoff pauses the video, the blond now looking back at him with an evil glint in his eyes. “I think that’s the moment Jamaraya was talking about...”

“So, what about it, Trent?” Bridgette holds her head with her hands, giving out a dreamy look. “Did you wanted to kiss (Y/N)?”

“Ah… I… um...”

“Careful, now!” Geoff points at the hammer on the ceiling. “One lie and this comes down straight to you!”

Trent gulps when he sees it preparing to swing, then he sighs.

“… yes. Yes, I did…” He notices a flash of anger in Courtney’s pupils and he puts his hands in front of him. “B-but only for a second, I swear!”

“But if you _could_ kiss her, Trent...” Geoff wiggles his eyebrow at him, not bothered by the boy’s awkwardness. “… would you?”

“… alright, yes.” He scratches his temple, a small smile coming out of his lips at the thought of your sparkling eyes. “Yes, I would… but only if she wants to!”

“ _She’ll never want to kiss you!_ ” Courtney growls as she points at him accusingly. “I’ll make sure of it!”

Trent sighs a second time. “Look, I know she’s your girlfriend, okay? I’m not gonna steal her away from you, I’m not a monster.”

The brown-haired girl seems to calm down a little, though she’s quirking an eyebrow in suspicion.

“… what are you hiding?”

“Well… hopefully, for you, it never happens, but...” Trent awkwardly chuckles under his breath. “There’s a reason I didn’t want you guys to know how I felt about her. I wanted to wait for her to become single again before confessing to her...”

Courtney’s fists tighten on the sofa, almost ripping it, while the others awed at Trent’s heart.

“Awn, Trent… I think Gayby’s question for you here would be perfect to ask right now...” Bridgette smiles wildly. “‘How do you really feel about (Y/N)?’”

“Ah… I think she’s the most amazing girl I have ever met...” Trent holds his head with his hands as he remembers the few little time he got to share with you this season. “I think she’s beautiful and kind, but also very funny… and when I’m with her, I just… I just feel like I’m home, you know?”

The audience gives out a long ‘awn’ upon hearing Trent’s explanation of his feelings, but Courtney-

“ _ **That’s it!**_ ” She stands up again, Tyler and Eva running over to her to try their best to stop her from jumping unto the music boy. “ _ **I’m gonna rip your head apart from your body, loser-**_ ”

“And here’s a question for Courtney from Smo10cMaker!” Bridgette’s words don’t seem to bring Courtney’s attention away from killing her future victim, the blond trying her best to make her voice louder than the voices in the brown-haired girl’s head. “' _If (Y/N) were with you right now, what will you do?_ ’”

“ _ **I would...**_ ” Courtney slowly stops trying to run over to Trent and tries to take back control on her heavy breathing, getting freed once Tyler and Eva feel that she has calm down. “I would… hold her very close to me...”

She hugs herself and closes her eyes, trying to remember how your embrace felt.

“And… I would kiss her and… tell her how much… I miss her-” She stops herself from crying, sitting on the sofa and giving out an annoyed expression. “-Well, it’s none of your business what I would do if she was here!”

“Haha!” Geoff dismisses her last comment with a movement of his hand. “Sorry, Courtney, but it’s time to check in on our webcam!”

“And we’ve got Steve the...” Bridgette quirks an eyebrow in confusion. “… yeti…? From Vancouver!”

A real-life yeti appears on the giant screen behind them, the blond surf girl looking back at it in shock while Geoff simply laughs happily.

“How’s it going, dude?”

The yeti raises a finger, his expression turning to anger.

“ _Chris Mclean is the best host ever!_ ” The animal puts his face closer to the camera, scaring Bridgette as he does so. “ _How did you get your own show!? You stink!_ ”

“ _Yo, Chris!_ ” Everyone frowns in confusion when they hear Chef’s voice coming out of the screen. “ _If I **wanted** to take a hot tub by myself I’d- Oh. You’re on the webcam?_”

Geoff and Bridgette share a look before looking back at the screen. “Chris?”

The yeti awkwardly smiles at the camera while Chef appears, a serious expression on his face.

“ _ **Don’t believe a word Izzy says… the girl’s crazy!**_ ”

Trent turns his head at the ginger-haired girl and squints his eyes at her, but the girl only shrugs with a huge smile on her face. That’s when a cellphone in front of Bridgette starts to ring, and Geoff picks it up happily.

“And we’ve got a call!” Geoff presses on a button so everyone can hear the caller instead of just him. “Hello?”

“ _You and Chris stink!_ ” Geoff loses his smile upon hearing those words. “ _Go team Eva!_ ”

“You’re on team Eva?” Bridgette doesn’t seem bothered by the insults as she keeps smiling. “Why?”

“ _Eva should have won the hundred grand! **And I’ll pound anyone who-**_ ”

“Eva!” Bridgette turns towards the tough girl once she recognizes her voice, a sharp look in her eyes. “Stop it!”

The girl groans as she closes her cellphone, Geoff giving out a new smile.

“Speaking of getting pounded… it’s time for...” He raises his finger to point it a the screen behind him. “ _That’s gonna leave a mark!_ ”

Bridgette playfully sighs. “The humiliation never ends!”

“Dudes, here’s what you didn’t get to see on the show!”

* * *

_Duncan and Izzy were walking around the set in their costumes peacefully when a giant light falls unto the punk’s head._

“ _Looks likes it’s…. lights out for Duncan!”_

“ _I’ll say!”_

* * *

“ _And here he’s about to take it again!” The screen shows DJ running away from the giant monster, Duncan simply staring back at it completely mortified. “Trent, I know you wanna lay the guy out for going out with (Y/N), but I think the monster’s about to beat you to the punch!”_

_And just as he finishes that, the video unpauses to show Duncan getting crushed by the monster’s foot._

* * *

_The screen now shows Lindsay building up the castle, the girl screaming when a crab snaps its claw on her finger._

“ _Ouch!”_

* * *

_Beth moves her lasso around proudly, only to wrap it around her own feet and fell unto the ground._

“ _Ha-ha! I don’t even know what to draw for that one!”_

* * *

_The screen shows you falling off the roof with Heather, the bald girl landing on top of you and cutting your breath off._

“ _Oooh, looks like those two had it rough!”_

* * *

_And finally, it shows Chef in his alien costume, the ex-soldier slipping into a green puddle of slime and falling unto his back._

“ _Now,_ **that’s** gonna leave a mark!”

* * *

Geoff laughs so much when the camera set back on him with the audience’s applause that tears of joy are come out of his eyes and roll down his cheeks.

“ _Oh,_ that was **brutal!** ”

Courtney’s still shocked about the fall you’ve suffered, her hands still over her mouth as she stares at the empty screen behind the two hosts.

“Um… do you guys think I could sing a song?” Trent puts his hand over his heart, a small smile on his face. “It’s something I wrote for (Y/N)...”

“Awn...” Bridgette gives out a sweet smile, holding her two hands together. “For sure, Trent!”

[ **Disclaimer: I copy-pasted some of the lyrics of ‘It’s nice to have a friend’ by Taylor Swift, so the lyrics are not mine at all! Go listen to the original song, it’s so pretty <3**]

The music boy slowly nods back before starting to play the chords on his guitar, Trent then taking in a breath to sing his song.

“ _Light pink sky up on the roof… Sun sinks down, no curfew… 20 questions, we tell the truth… You’ve been stressed out lately, yeah, me too…_ ” His smile stretches out at the memory you shared on the beach, the tingling he felt when your hand touched his coming back to him. “ _Something gave you the nerve… to touch my hand… It’s nice to have a friend..._ ”

He plays a few more chords, his eyes opening as he slowly finishes.

“ _Yeah, it’s nice… to have… a friend..._ ”

The whole audience cheers loudly as they applause the best that they could, Trent giving out a proud smile back at them while also ignoring Courtney’s hard stare from her place. Geoff gets back his attention when he giggles, the blond sending him finger guns.

“Nice song, dude! Here’s a question we just got from Imperfect World.” Trent’s eyes widen in surprise, having thought that the question time was over. “‘If you could change one thing you’ve done up until now, what would you change?’”

“Oh, that’s an interesting question...” He takes a long moment to think, everything he has done back from the first day in season one flashing through his head. “Well… I guess… Maybe I would try and get to know (Y/N) back in season one instead of focusing on Gwen so much… Who knows where we would be if I did?”

“ _Not. Together._ ” Courtney grinds her teeth, her hands tightening their grip on her arms. “Because _I_ would have still gotten her first!”

“See, I’m not so sure about that.” Trent gives her a proud smug, still holding his guitar. “Her only two choices back then was a girl that keeps shouting and a mean jerk. Add a pretty nice guy like me into the mix and I think she wouldn’t have hesitated a second to choose me.”

A flash of pure hatred flashes through Courtney’s eyes. “ _ **You mother-**_ ”

“Oh my, what an interesting situation! Trent VS Courtney, such a tough choice!” Geoff smiles wildly at the camera, holding the electronic tablet in his hands. “And you, back at home, who do you think (Y/N) would have chosen between Trent and Courtney? A very hard question, isn’t it? Luckily, maybe this question from Yerlylu23 will help us all!”

Both Trent and Courtney stares at Geoff in confusion, the blond simply reading what’s on the tablet’s screen.

“For Trent and Courtney…” His lips stretch out as he looks up between the two contestants. “If you could say _one_ thing to (Y/N), what would you say?”

The music boy and the ex-CIT share a small competing look before Courtney takes the opportunity and therefore answers first.

“I would tell her that I love and miss her very much, to the point where my heart is always aching from not being able to be by her side.”

The audience ‘awn’ at Courtney’s answer, making Trent squints his eyes at her.

“Well, I would tell her that I’m here for her and that I respect her decision about her relationship, but that I’ll always be waiting for the possibility of us being happy together.”

“Wow, such good answers! But I seem to be at lost when it comes to choosing and-dammit. I’m sorry, guys, I have to do this.” Geoff’ smile falters as he looks back at his girlfriend, his heart aching. “Bridge, I’m sorry for all the stuff I said… I do think (Y/N) is great, but that’s because she helped us get together!”

Bridgette’s expression turns to a sad one. “… you do?”

“Yeah!” He puts his hands on her shoulder, making her smile at his next words. “I think you’re the greatest and hottest chick on the… on the planet!”

“Awn… right back at ya!” She loses her smile when she realizes what she just said, but she regains it when she hugs him close. “I mean… you’re great and hot too!”

“It’s really amazing that you guys have such a healthy relationship, but could we go back to-”

Trent gets cut off by the two hosts starting to make out as their lives depend on it, the music boy quirking an eyebrow in disgust.

“… the show.”

“Could get the hammer back here?” When Izzy doesn’t get an answer, she turns back towards the screen. “I guess that’s a wrap! Thank you so much for questions and for reading this! Geoff and Bridgette will see you… **next time!** ”

“If they don’t get fired...” Trent puts his hand in front of his face to hide the sight of the two hosts. “Dude!”

“For once...” Courtney looks away in disgust. “I agree with you, loser.”

Geoff slightly gets away from Bridgette’s lips to talk to the camera.

“We’ve got a huge… season… coming up…!”

They go back to kissing for a few more seconds, the two then parting away to let Bridgette talk.

“Which means, we’ll be coming to you _live_ for the next Aftermath!”

“And don’t forget to join Chris next time for the most dramatically thrilling episode of Total! Drama-”

He gets cut off by Bridgette jumping on him, her lips full-on back on his while the camera turns to Izzy.

“ _ **Actione!**_ ”

Cue the ending song of the show.

* * *

When everyone has finally left, David passes the broom on the TV stage to clean it, only putting his eyes up when he arrives next to Bridgette and Geoff still making out on the sofa, their feet and legs stopping him from doing his job.

_I’ll never understand how (Y/N) manages to be friends with those people._

He clears his throat to gain the two lovebirds attention, the two hosts giving him a small look before they put their legs up from the ground.

_Wow, thanks._

He takes it anyway, passing the broom in front of the sofa and then continuing to the other side of the stage. Once he’s done, he turns off the lights without even looking at the two blonds, the intern leaving the place as soon as he can.

“Time to help Chris with the next challenge.”


	36. TDA: The Chefsank Redemption

**7 – The Chefsank Redemption**

“ _Come on!_ ” Lindsay tries her best to open the trailer’s door, her teeth grinding and her eyes closing shut as she pulls as hard as she can. “ _Open!_ ”

You sigh from your place, looking around the room while the blond does her thing. You know she’s not gonna be able to open the door, simply for the fact that Chris woke you all up ten minutes ago and the door has been stuck ever since. So you can only assume that either this is a new challenge, or he wants to mess with you all for a few minutes before you can go outside.

“We’ve got to open the door, right?” Your eyes turn to Gwen still wearing her black pajamas, her eyes wide from fear while her breathing gets harder. “I have claustrophobia!”

“Oh, _boo-_ _ **hoo.**_ ” Heather looks back at her from her place, her hands still on the window that she has been trying to open for the last few minutes. “This trailer is as tight as the space between Lindsay’s ears.”

“Aww.” The blond stops pulling for a second to let out a sweet smile. “Thank you!”

You quirk an eyebrow at your friend. “That wasn’t a compliment, Lindsay.”

She loses her smile, confused. “It wasn’t?”

“Up there!” Gwen suddenly points at a hatch on the ceiling, and you all join her to look at it a little closer. “Maybe one of us can squeeze through?”

“I’m not sure we can...” You cross your arms over your chest, already annoyed with the situation. “Anyway, I’m sure Chris is just messing with us. He’ll open the door soon.”

“I agree with (Y/N). This is just a waste of time.” The blue-haired girl looks back at Heather with a huge grin, the bald girl frowning in suspicion. “What?”

* * *

“Ever since the whole awful Trent thing went down, I’ve just been waiting for it to bite me in the butt.” The blue-haired girl gives the camera her saddest eyes. “But what can I do? He was my weakness, my Hercules’ heal… we all have one.”

Her lips stretch out into a smirk.

“Luckily, Heather as a bunch of useful ones.” The gothic starts counting down on her fingers. “Glittery objects, new hair products… _shameless flattery._ ”

* * *

“ _Of course..._ ” Gwen’s smile keeps widening as she talks, her voice sounding fake. “… only the tooth-pickiest of us is gonna fit through that vent…! I’m talking… model-thin! **Surely** the most athletic of us would wanna show us her natural _slickness!_ ”

Heather scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Do you think (Y/N) is gonna fall for your compliments like that?”  _Please._ ”

You feel a smile come out of your lips. “I think she was talking about you, Heather.”

“U-um...” Her cheeks get red from embarrassment as she tries to ignore the others snickering. “O-of course she was talking about me!”

Her words somehow seem to make it worse, since your lips stretch out and the girls’ laugh gets harder to control.

“Oh, _shut up!_ ” You all stop laughing when she frowns in anger but still wearing your smiles on your faces, the bald girl pointing at Gwen with determination. “For _once_ , I agree with you. I’ll do it.”

“Sometimes...” Leshawna gives you a side look from her place. “… I really wish I was one of the guys.”

You snort. “From what Duncan tells me, it’s not that much better.”

“Really?” The brown girl gives you a small smirk. “What kind of stories do you got?”

“Not sure I can tell.”

“Hey, guys?” Lindsay’s voice gets everyone’s attention back to her, the blond still trying to pull open the door. “A little help would be appreciated-”

She gets cut off by the door opening wide, the blond falling on the ground and hitting her back.

“Ow...”

“Well, looks like we won’t need anyone to go through the vent.” You uncross your arms and give everyone a smile before walking towards the blond to help her off the ground. “You’re okay, Lindsay?”

“Yeah-”

“ _Thank god!_ ” Gwen runs pass you and jumps right outside. “ _We’re free!_ ”

You can’t help but giggle at the blue-haired girl’s reaction, helping Lindsay to step outside while the others follow you out. You slightly tense up when you see Chris wearing a police officer’s costume and his usual wide smile, the host putting his arms in the air with an annoyed expression.

“Finally! What took you so long?”

“Calm down, grandpa. The door was stuck.” Heather squints her eyes at the host, then she looks at the guys’ trailer. “And since the boys aren’t here yet, I’m guessing their door’s stuck too.”

A maniac laugh escapes the host’ lips.

“You guessed right!” He grabs the trailer’s door’s handle, his smile stretching out into an evil one. “Here, let’s free them now-”

He opens the door just as the boys were about to break it open with their bodies, all of them rolling over the grass and finally landing in front of you and the other girls.

“Good morning, babe.”

The punk slightly opens his eyes from the pain, looking up to see you grinning down at him like a maniac.

“Shut up.”

His response only makes you giggle, then you try your best to help him up while the host walks back towards the group with his arms crossed behind his back.

“Hope you all enjoyed your first taste of the gulag!”

“Goulash?” Lindsay frowns in confusion. “I didn’t get any goulash!”

“Well, prepare for it to get a _whole lot_ worse, because today...” Chris takes a moment to create suspense, his grin as large as it can be. “… is prison flick day!”

You quirk an eyebrow when your whole team sighs in disappointment, not sure why they’re all reacting this way, then give out a smile when you feel arms wrapping around your waist and lips on your shoulder.

“Looks like you’ll lose again, babe. I’m the one with the most experience with jail here.”

You give out a scoff, turning your head towards Duncan with your mouth open. “You think because you went to juvie, you’re gonna win this thing?”

“Hm… pretty sure, yes.” He traps your mouth with his for a few seconds, his eyes full of a familiar glint. “Sorry, but this challenge is in the bag-”

“ _Lovely._ ” Heather gives out a proud smirk as she looks at Duncan. “At least we’ve got the actual ex-con on our team.”

A flash of frustration passes through your boyfriend’s eyes as he sends her a glare.

“It was only juvenile detention, don’t get too excited!”

You break out a smile. “Really? I thought you said-”

“ _Don’t give her the win._ ”

You mimic shutting your mouth shut with an invisible key, your lips still forming a huge grin as you give your attention back to Chris.

“Ah…. Prison…!” The host gently hits his palm with a stick, starting to describe the police flicks. “The confinement, the claustrophobia…! The vile _nasty_ food! And you’re always looking over your shoulder… ‘cause mister killer dude wants to cut ya for taking the last tater tot! And no matter how hard you try, digging up spoonfuls of dirt year after year… there’s no escape!”

You all stare at him in silence after he finishes his passionate speech, the host soon putting his arms behind his back.

“Unless you get voted off, of course.”

* * *

“ _Yeah..._ ” You squint your eyes at the camera. “But it’s pretty hard to get voted off when you actually want to leave.”

* * *

“Talk about overkill.” Harold looks around the makeup booth in boredom. “This place is pretty prison-like already.”

His eyes widen at his own words.

“Not that I’m complaining, I mean… I should probably be locked up for the ladies’ sake anyways.”

* * *

After Chris gave you all some time to get changed, you all joined him unto the new set for the prison break challenge, eying the tables and the cells with a hint of nervousness.

“Get down, people! Let’s get this challenge started!” The host points at the two tables with bowls and plates, a team standing in front of each table. “Teams, you take a prisoner from the competition. And Chef-”

The ex-soldier arrives wearing his military outfit, a proud look on his face.

“-I mean, warden. Lock em’ up!”

“Um… Guys?” You feel your heart pumping the blood harder the longer you stare at the table. “What do you think we’re gonna do with these?”

“My guess?” Justin puts his arm around your shoulders with a smirk on his face. “We’re gonna prepare a disgusting meal for our prisoner.”

Despite your stomach twisting in sickness at the simple thought of eating even one of those ingredients, you grab Justin’s arm and push it away from you.

“Keep your hands to yourself, Justin.”

“Awn, relax, sweet cheeks.” You step back when he pinches your cheek, your fear soon getting replaced with frustration. “No need to be so stressed. It’s in the bag! Gwen owes us.”

“But...” Beth raises a finger, hesitation in her eyes. “What if walking her up means she’s out of the challenge, though?”

“But we _can’t_ know, remember?” Owen gives out sad eyes, silently counting the number of teammates he has left. “We need this bad!”

“Owen’s right...” You cross your arms over your chest, the guilt rising in your chest. “We’re not exactly outnumbering them.”

“Let’s flip a coin!” Lindsay gets out a penny from her skirt’s pocket, a huge smile creeping on her face. “Heads, we win. Tails, victory is ours!”

You give her a small smile. “It doesn’t work that way, Lindsay.”

“It doesn’t?”

“ _Choices!_ ” Chris’ voice makes you jump up, the host looking at your boyfriend’s team with his usual grin. “Gaffers?”

Heathers points at you without hesitation. “(Y/N).”

You feel the heat disappear from your face, your eyes widening and your heartbeat getting louder inside your ears. I mean, you were kind of expecting, weren’t you? You barely can eat normal food without wanting to vomit it all in a trashcan, so just imagine disgusting food like-

“Grips!” Your dad’s voice gets you out of your mental breakdown, your emotions getting mixed together into a potion of madness. “Now remember, this is an important choice! Especially for losers like yourselves!”

_Gosh, why did I sign this stupid contract?_

“Oh, we shouldn’t have any trouble beating...” Beth’s lips stretch out into an evil grin. “ **Gwen.** ”

Gwen loses her smile upon hearing her name and gulps her saliva with difficulty. You can’t help but feel pity for the girl, being now forced to help your team against her own will…

But even if the blue-haired girl tries her best to vomit before you can, you don’t think she’ll succeed.

Wait. Why are you thinking like this? Chris never said you’d have to eat disgusting food, right? He just said-

“Today’s first game is...” Chris grabs a white sheet and pulls it to uncover loads and loads of disgusting stuff. “… the prison chow-lenge!”

You feel yourself gag at the awful sme ll, turning away from it and trying your best to not vomit already.

“Each team will present Chef with the foulest, nastiest, most vomiting slop of this side of Alcatraz!” Chris looks between you and Gwen, his smile widening when he notices your state. “Gwen and (Y/N) have to stomach has much as they can! Last one to power-hurl… wins!”

“ _No..!_ ” You get pushed towards the cell by Chef, feeling the anxiety rising inside your veins when the cell’s door closes behind you. “ _I don’t wanna do this! I… I’m innocent!_ ”

Chris giggles at your words. “That’s what they all say.”

* * *

“I know I owe the Grips because of Trent’s cheating...” Gwen shakes her head in disbelief at the camera. “But (Y/N) almost always hurl when she has to eat normal breakfast! How am I gonna puke before that?”

* * *

“ _Oh god, no..._ ” You put your hands in front of your mouth to stop yourself from vomiting at what’s on your team’s table, not even wanting to look at the one who’s preparing _your_ meal. “ _So…_ _ **gross…!**_ ”

Gwen squints her eyes at you before looking away. “The reward better be worth it.”

“Have I ever let you down?”

“ _Yes!_ ” You give the host a desperate look, starting to hyperventilate. “Yes, you did!”

“… scratch that, then.” The host looks back at the teams and gets out a golden shovel from behind his back. “The winning team gets this!”

Lindsay quirks an eyebrow in confusion. “What are we supposed to do with a shovel?”

You couldn’t care less about that stupid shovel. You were trapped in a goddam prison cell, the bars looking like they’re closing on you and making you silently suffocate because of them. You don’t think you’re feeling this way because of the disgusting food you’ll have to eat, you’ve never reacted this way because of that before. It feels like- It feels like-

* * *

_ You’re trying to muffle your cries as you lay into the fetal position, feeling the bars of the rusty dog’s cage digging in the skin on your back and your legs. You don’t how long it has been since your mom left you in there, in the dark with a bowl of dog food right outside. All you can think about is that it’s your fault if you’re in there, and you shouldn’t have asked your mom for food when she said you didn’t deserve it. _

“ _ **Stop whining.** ” You tense up at the sound of her sharp voice, a sigh escaping her lips when she keeps hearing your sobs. “ **God, you’re so annoying. You don’t wanna be annoying, don’t you?** ”_

_ You don’t wanna be annoying. _

“ _ **If you want me to get you out, you better stop whining. And maybe I won’t tell your dad that you’ve been bad today.** ”_

_ You don’t want dad to know you’ve been bad. _

“ _ **Will you stop whining?** ”_

_ You want your dad to love you, not hate you. _

“ _ **Answer me, you bitch!** ”_

_ You yelp when she kicks the cage, and you try your best to shut down your sobs for as long as you can. _

“ _ **Good.** ”_

_ She leaves the room without opening the cage. _

* * *

You come back to your senses to see Chris looks between you and Gwen. “Prisoners ready?”

“ _ **Let me out!**_ ” You start hitting the cell’s bars with your fist, the memory making your throat shrink and your heart beating harder against your ribcage. “Let me out!”

“And...” Chris ignores you as he puts his arms with a huge smile, suddenly putting them down as he looks at the teams. “...go!”

You try to control your breathing as you sit down on the floor, a hand on your chest with your eyes closed while you concentrate on calming yourself down. Gwen gives you a worried expression from her place, holding onto the bars while she does so.

“(Y/N), you’re okay?”

You barely hear her with your heartbeat slamming inside your ears. “Y-yeah-”

“Duncan goes right for the roaches!” Your eyes open wide when you hear Chris say this, the feeling of betrayal being added into the horrifying mix of your emotions. “Harold tops it off with some slimy anchovies paste and… _oh!_ Here come the horse lips!”

_ Gross,  **gross,** **gross,** ~~ **gross-** ~~ _

Duncan knows how serious your condition is. He knows how food can make you have enormous panic attacks that you can’t control, and he had to help you get through breakfast and lunch multiple times since you’ve been on this show. He  _ knows _ that this challenge is horrifying for you. So why is he making it worse by being the one putting the most disgusting things in your mixture?

_ Why is he participating in giving you those panic attacks? _

You feel yourself gag again when you look at the Gaffers’ table, and between this food challenge and the terrifying memory of your biological mother, you don’t know how much longer you’re gonna survive in this cell.

“A whole lot of dead hair going into the Grips concoction! _Oh,_ and what’s this?” You instantly regret looking up to see how your team’s doing, the sight of Owen scratching his head hard with his hair pointing towards the bowl making your stomach twist more than once. “The top of spaghetti all covered in flakes! And Gwen has to eat it!”

You’re kind of glad to not be the one to eat that.

“Time’s up! And jailbirds?” The host looks back at you and Gwen inside your cells, noticing that you’re sitting down in pretty bad shape. “Hope your appetites are primed!”

You look up to see Harold walking towards you with a giant bowl full of the smelly concoction in his hands, instantly putting your hands on top of your mouth and nose to stop any more gags.

“We have the braced horse lips with the goat brains freakasy and the fish gut reduction. Topped off, of course, with some toenails clippings.” He ignores your upper body receding when he hands you the bowl, his smile still present on his face. “Bon appétit!”

“ _ **Gross!**_ ” You take the bowl in your hands while looking away, feeling gastric trying to move up in your esophageal. “ _ **God, I can’t-**_ ”

“Are you maggots ready!? One minute to down that chow! And...” Chris looks away from the watch on his wrist to look back at you and Gwen. “... _dig in!_ ”

While the blue-haired girl immediately starts to eat your team’s concoction, you just hold the bowl in your hands with your eyes closed and your face looking away, not moving a single muscle.

“(Y/N)!” You open one eye to see Justin with his arms in the air. “You _have_ to try!”

You slowly gulp your saliva, trying to shove down your panic attack by ignoring the jolts in your body, and you slowly pick up the spoon Harold left on the ground next to you. When you finally put some of the concoction on the spoon, you stare at it dreadfully, then close your eyes and shove it inside your mouth before you convince yourself to throw the bowl far away from you.

“How-” You stare down at the concoction in disbelief, the paste in your mouth tasting like the greatest thing you’ve ever eaten in your entire life. “How is this tasting so good?”

You look up at Gwen to see if she has the same problem as you, only to see her regurgitate something on the ground after almost choking.

“Thanks!” Beth picks up what seems to be a dental appliance covered in vomit. “My dad would have killed me.”

You drop the bowl on the ground when she puts it in her mouth without any second thought.

“ _I-_ ” You put your hand on your mouth when you fill the vomit fill in your cheeks, turning away from the cameras in time to let it all out right on the floor while the jolts in your body get more violent.

“Gwen keeps it down for the Screaming Gaffers and wins the reward!”

You wipe the vomit away from your mouth just as you hear Gwen’s team cheer, feeling giant shivers run through your spine while you tremble from cold.

“Awn, don’t worry, (Y/N).” Chris opens your cell’s door with a smile, not bothered by your blank stare. “You’ll get the chance to get back in the game later… _maybe._ ”

You ignore him and stand up from the ground, having instantly felt relieved when he unlocked the cell for you. You don’t have time to step out that Lindsay’s already in front of you, holding your hands to help you get out of there.

“You’re okay, (Y/N)?”

You give her a small smile, still trembling because of your sickness. “I could be better...”

The blond doesn’t wait to send Gwen a hard look as soon she gets out of her cell, not liking the state you’re in.

“Thanks, _Gwen._ ” You feel her squeeze your hands tighter within hers. “So much for our deal.”

You feel your heart squeeze in guilt when you see your friend walk away in shame, Lindsay wasting no time to pull you towards your team. You have enough time to notice Heather squinting her eyes at the blue-haired girl and starting to talk to her with an accusing finger before you feel crushed by Owen’s arms, the big blond almost crying.

“We’re so sorry, (Y/N)!”

He puts you down and turns away to hide his crying, letting you look at the rest of your teammates in confusion.

“But… I lost the challenge...”

“Relax! It’s not a big deal!” Justin chuckles evilly. “Gwen’s on our side, remember?”

“Besides, who cares about that?” Beth grabs your shoulders and makes you look into her eyes. “They shouldn’t have put you through this in the first place! They almost triggered your food problem! Heck, Duncan should have known better than to let his team chose you for this challenge!”

_ Yes… Duncan should have known better… right? _

You look behind you to see your boyfriend holding onto the golden shovel, still cheering with the rest of his team and with the widest grin you’ve ever seen on his face.

“He doesn’t seem like he’s remorseful...” Justin lowers his voice just as you look at him, giving you a sad smile. “… does he?”

You can’t help but agree with him, feeling like Duncan cares more about winning than anything else… including you.

* * *

“Elimination challenge, here we go!”

You notice Duncan sending you a look from his place, and so you cross your arms on your chest and avoid looking at him at all cost, feeling the anger boiling inside your lungs while you pay attention to Chris instead. The punk frown in confusion, not sure why you’re acting like this, but keeps it to himself for the time being.

“No get out of jail free cards here, people! _This_ is an escape from Total Drama panty.” You all look at the series of obstacles, the host explaining all of them. “Each team must hop in their laundry cart while one member pushes through obstacles towards the way to freedom! Once you reach the wall, get digging! The first team to reach the box card of freedom wins immunity.”

“ **Hey.** ” You tense when you hear Duncan’s voice right beside you, his fingers approaching your shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

“I just had to go through a living nightmare.” You move away from his hand, still not looking at him. “And you had no problem contributing to it?”

“Really? You’re gonna be mad about that?” He rolls his eyes in annoyance, then tries to make you look at him. “Babe, it’s the game. I had to do it for winning, I thought you’d understand.”

“Oh, I understand.” You send him a hard look, your fingers tightening their grip on your arms. “ _ **I understand perfectly.**_ ”

“(Y/N), come on-”

“I’m just saying...” You angry expression falters to a hurt one, the betrayal shown in your eyes. “I would have never done that to you.”

You walk away from him and closer to your team before he can even add anything to the conversation. The punk shakes his head in disbelief, about to follow you and make you listen to him when Chris interrupts any of his actions.

“Convicts, select a pusher!”

He groans and walks back towards his team, his hands hidden in his jean’s pocket while DJ raises his hand with a huge smile.

“I’ll do it!”

“You’re sure you can handle the pressure?” Gwen looks back at him with a serious expression, talking with a strange tone. “Everything is riving on this! But… if you like being the one who could lose us the whole thing...”

Heather’s mouth opens wide in confusion. “Huh?”

The bald girl looks back at DJ to see his arm fall beside him, his head lowering in sadness.

“I should probably lie down...”

He then proceeds to jump inside the laundry cart to hide his crying from the world, Gwen’s lips stretching out into an evil grin.

“It’s okay, DJ.” She looks at you and your team, sending you all a wink. “ _I’ll_ do it.”

Heather squints her eyes at the situation, then sends you a look from her place to silently ask for an explanation. You just shrug at her, knowing that if you tell her your team made a deal with Gwen right here and then, you might get kicked off-

Wait, that’s a brilliant idea-

“So...” Beth stops you from doing your amazing plan by talking, looking at the two guys in your team with dreamy eyes. “Which of you guys is pushing us?”

There’s a small pause of silence until Owen grabs his knee and screams in pain.

“Ow! Dang! Trick knees have been acting up since that time… I, em…” He gives out an awkward giggle, feeling uncomfortable under your ‘are you kidding me?’ stare. “… push it to the max at the… em… sports… game...”

He hops away and inside the cart before you even have the chance to call on his bullshit, Lindsay sending him a sad expression.

“Awn, poor thing!” She then looks at the model standing beside her, flashing her eyelashes at him. “Justin! We could use some real manliness here...”

“Yeah...” You give out a smirk. “Unless, of course, you don’t think you’re manly enough.”

“Em...” He looks between you, Beth and Lindsay in embarrassment then give out a smile. “Look, girls. Gwen has this thing! We don’t want it to look too uneven!”

You quirk an eyebrow at that. “What are you talking about?”

“I think we need a girl too, to hide the whole cheating business?” He approaches his face to yours, ignoring the fact that you’re shifting your head away from him. “And beautiful? The way you took on the challenges in last season nearly blew my mind.”

You grind your teeth. “ _**Don’t call me beautiful.** _ ”

His smug stretches out. “You know you like it.”

“Oh, yes!” Lindsay applauds while jumping up and down excitedly. “(Y/N) would be perfect for this!”

You look at your two friends, the two of them seeming very happy for you to take on the challenge, then you sigh.

“ _Fine._ ” You put your finger on Justin’s chest to push him away from you. “But I’m doing this for them, not for you.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, honey.”

“ _ **Don’t-**_ ” You sigh, trying your best to keep the frustration inside. “God, you’re impossible.”

He just giggles while he hops inside the cart with the rest of your team, letting you hold onto to it and preparing to run as fast as you can. Not that it’s gonna make any difference. Even if you try your best to be as slow as possible, Gwen would make sure your team wins instead of hers.

This deal is wrecking your whole plan of getting kicked off and you hate it.

“This is it, teams! On your marks! Get set...” You bend your knees to be able to run sooner than Gwen, your grip tightening on the cart. “ _… escape!_ ”

You use all your strength to push the laundry cart forward, only to be stuck right here and then while Gwen goes on without any trouble. For a second, you don’t understand why your laundry cart is so heavy to move, then you remember that one of your teammates in the cart is Owen, which might make this challenge impossible for you to do.

Maybe you’ll be able to get kicked off, after all.

“Pump those foxy legs, come on! Pump!”

“ _I swear, Justin, if you don’t stop flirting with me-_ ” Your anger rises inside your veins as you stare at him, unconsciously managing to push the cart forward because of it. “- _I’m gonna pop your head off!_ ”

His grin stretches out. “Then why is it helping you now, huh?”

“ _Because you enrage me!_ ”

“Wow, Gwen...” Beth puts her hand beside her mouth so her voice can get to the blue-haired girl. “You’re going even faster than Trent ever could!”

The blue-haired girl immediately stops running when she hears those words, letting you pass by them with the angriest expression you ever showed.

“Come on, beautiful! You can do it! Trent would be proud!”

“ _If you don’t stop, I’m gonna stab you in your sleep!_ ” You lower your head and close your eyes to try to concentrate on just running, also not wanting to see Justin’s smug face anymore. “I swear, I’m gonna kill him-”

“(Y/N)?”

You ignore Beth’s scared voice and continue to mumble under your breath, Justin opening his eyes and losing his smile when he sees the prison’s wall approaching dangerously.

“ _(Y/N)?_ ”

“-If he keeps doing this he’s gonna regret-”

“ _ **(Y/N)!**_ ”

“ _ **What?**_ ” You look up and your eyes widen when you see the wall. “Oh shit-”

You try your best to stop the cart from hitting the wall at full speed, planting your feet in the sand as deep as you can and finally managing to stop it at the last second, Owen getting woken up by slightly only touching the wall with his head.

“Ow...” He scratches his head, still a little groggy. “I was having this terrible dream! I was on this show, and we were in prison, and we had to-”

He finally notices from your blank stares and the giant rock wall behind him that it was not a dream.

“Awn, _nuts._ Um...” He shakes his head. “Beer nuts!”

Beth hands him a spoon with a bored expression. “Get digging, sleeping Mcbumper head!”

* * *

“So-” Chris looks at Chef with a wide smile, the excitement clearly on his face. “-you’ve ever seen that prison flick? The one with the guy in it? You know? The guy with the face?”

Chef just shrugs, not caring about what the host’s saying, which makes him lose his smile and look down in embarrassment.

“So… you’re doing anything after work? We could always run a-” He stops when he sees Chef’s weird expression, looking away again. “-or not. I was… busy… anyway. Very busy, I just… threw it out there.”

The ex-soldier simply quirks an eyebrow at the host’s behavior. "You're okay, Chris?"

The host takes a moment to answer, his eyes saddening for a few seconds before giving out a huge grin.

"Yeah, man! I'm _great!_ "

* * *

You and your teammates are now deep underground, trying your best to dig as much dirt as you can with your small spoons to try and win this thing. If you have no chance of making your team lose, might as well help them instead of doing nothing, right?

“Justin!” Lindsay’s voice makes you look behind to see the model sitting down and doing nothing with a smile, the blond giving him a worried expression. “I can hear them being ahead of us!”

“Chill… Gwen’s throwing the game, remember?”

Lindsay giggles. “Oh,  _right!_ I keep forgetting!”

“Yeah!” Justin looks at his reflection on the spoon, his smile widening. “What do you say we ratchet this operation back a notch, huh?”

You stop digging and send him a glare. “Gwen’s not a miracle worker, dummy! Her team has a golden shovel and we have the smallest spoons in the world!”

“Woah, cranky much?” Justin looks away from his reflection to lay his eyes on you, his lips still stretch into a smug. “Or are you scared you’ll fall for me if we spend too much time together?”

“ _Are you serious-_ ” You grab his shirt with your hand and pull him towards you, holding your spoon tightly in a threatening manner. “There’s no way I’ll ever be interested in you, Justin. Knock it off!”

He gives out a chuckle, his face getting closer than you’re comfortable with.

“ _ **It’s not what your eyes say.**_ ”

You groan in frustration and push him away from you, going back to digging the dirt.

“Just shut up and help us.”

He picks up his spoon that he dropped on the floor. “Anything for a beautiful woman.”

_ God, I fucking hate him. _

“Hey, guys!” You get out of your anger to see Owen looking back at you with a huge grin. “I think we’re here!”

“Go, go, go!” You and Beth crawl over to the blond’s place to help him dig out the rest of dirt so you can all arrive at the surface, even when the light blind all of you. “We’re almost there!”

Beth’s the first one to get out, then she helps you so you can help her bring Owen up. After a little push from Lindsay and Justin under him, you finally manage to get the big blond out of the tunnel you all made, your last two teammates getting out on their own soon after.

“We did it!” You look back at Beth to see her stare at the train car right beside you, her eyes lightening up with pride. “We won!”

Chris steps down from one of the cars, his arms crossed behind his back. “Looks like you’ve finally scored a win, Grips!”

_ Holy shit, we managed to win. _

Even though you won’t be going tonight, you happily cheer with the rest of your team, all of your hugging each other and even crying in relief.

“Alright, Killer Grips!” You all stop when you hear a familiar voice, turning around to see none other than Izzy wearing a cameo hat and bunny teeth while showing you her hand. “High five!

“But...” Lindsay frowns in confusion. “We voted you off.”

“Yeah!” You quirk an eyebrow at the ginger-haired girl. “What are you doing here?”

“Nuh-huh, guys!” She points are you all, her smile turning to an evil one. “You voted off Kaleidoscope.”

“So...” Owen grabs his head as he thinks. “Izzy’s still technically in the game!”

Your mouth opens wide from the shock. “Oh my god, you’re a genius.”

She giggles proudly. “I know, right?”

“ _I can’t believe this!_ ” You look behind Izzy to see Heather arrive with the rest of her team, her arms crossed over her chest. “ _How is this possible!?_ ”

“Well, I...” Gwen tilts her head in confusion. “… don’t have any answers.”

_ Me neither, Gwen. _

“Obviously, my girlfriend saved her team from another elimination.” Duncan wraps his arm around your shoulder, a smirk on his face. “Right, babe?”

You squint your eyes at him. “ **I’m still mad at you.** ”

He loses his smile at your words, then sighs. “ _ Fine _ , I’m sorry… I should have convinced them to take Lindsay instead of you, I really messed up today.”

“… you’re lucky I love you.” You smile and give his cheek a small kiss before you walk away with the rest of your team. “Try not to get kicked off tonight!”

He just chuckles at your reaction, secretly glad that you forgave him for what he did to you today.

You  _ did _ forgive him…

… right?

* * *

“If you were food, you’d be dessert.” You mimic gagging when you hear Owen sweet talk with Izzy, the two found lovers being more disgustingly loveable than you’ve ever seen them before. “Chocolate covered chocolate with chocolate sauce and sprinkles… hahaha…. Chocolate ones.”

The ginger-haired one giggles while you try your best to ignore them, eating the food Chef made for you all to regain the energy you vomited earlier today.

“That is so nice of you to say, Owen. You’re banana split with like… twenty-six bananas on a slit! Yeah...”

“ _ **(Y/N).**_ ” You look up from your plate to see Heather with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes sending you a hard look as she passes by you. “ _ **Outside. Now.**_ ”

“With pleasure!” You drop your spoon in your plate and follow her without even thinking, just wanting to be away from Owen and Izzy for a little while. “What’s the problem?”

She turns towards you with her arms in the air. “I want the truth!”

You quirk an eyebrow in confusion. “… okay?”

“What’s happening with Gwen? Why is she acting like she wants our team to lose? Tell me now!”

“Well...” You look behind for a moment to be sure no one will hear you. “Trent _might_ have been throwing off challenges for someone...”

Her eyes widen in realization. “You mean...”

“And people _might_ think that this particular someone was Gwen...”

“ _I knew it!_ ” She frowns in anger, her fist tightening. “Oh, she is _so_ gonna get it.”

You giggle at her reaction, making her turn her death glare to you.

“What’s so funny?”

“You.” She blinks in shock, her cheeks reddening without her consent. “I doubt people will believe you, Heather.”

“I’m still gonna try.” She crosses her arms over her chest, a superior expression settling back on her face as she walks back inside the tent. “You’ll see.”

She stops right at the entrance, looking back at you with a little worry in her eyes.

“My offer to talk is still on the table if you need it.”

Your heart twists at her words, your breath getting stuck in your throat.

“T-thanks, I...” You take a breath in before smiling. “I’ll take it when I’m ready.”

She slowly nods before going back inside, leaving you there to think.

Telling Heather your secret would be the worst idea you could ever have, and you have all season one to prove what she could do with that kind of information. But… she genuinely seems to want to be your friend, and if you don’t tell  _ someone _ soon, you’re gonna become crazy mad in a small matter of time.

And… maybe she could help you get kicked off…

Or maybe she’ll have the power to destroy your life.


End file.
